Columlna  (Hnitiewttp 
mtljeCitpofMmigork 


LIBRARY 


..<? 


^ 


Ls 


V 


,1'^ 


.Y) 


A   HISTOHY 


OF   THE 


RISE  OF  METHODISM  M  AMERICA. 


CONTAINING 

S>Mt\ts  of  Ulttljcbfet  Itmermit  ^rmcljtrs, 

FROM  1736  TO  1785,    ' 

NUMBERING  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SIXTY  OR  SEVENTY. 

ALSO, 

A  SHORT  ACCOUNT  OF  MANY  HUNDREDS  OF  THE  FIRST  RACE  OF  LAY 

MEMBERS,  MALE  AND  FEMALE,  FROM  NEW  YORK 

TO  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

TOGETHER  WITH  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  MANY  OF  THE  FIRST  SOCIETIES  AND  CHAPELS. 

BY    JOHN    LEDNUM, 

OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA  CONFERENCE. 
"  What  hath  God  wrought !"— NtraBERS  xxiii.  23. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
PUBLISHED    BY    THE    AUTHOR. 

SOLD  AT  METHODIST  BOOK  STORES. 
1859. 


«  «•  "  ►     *       • 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 

JOHN  LEDNUM, 

in  the  Clerk's  Oflace  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the  Eastern 
District  of  Pennsylvania. 


M£AR8  ft  DUSENBEBY,  STEEE0TYPER8. 


J.  VAN  COXniT,  PRIXTEB. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

Messrs,  John  and  Charles  Wesley  in  America,  13 — Mr.  George  "VVhite- 
tield  in  America,  and  in  Philadelphia,  14 — Mr.  Wesley's  account  of 
the  work  of  God  in  America,  14,  15 — Rev.  William  Hamilton,  of 
Baltimore,  15 — Rev.  George  C,  M.  Roberts ;  his  account  of  Straw- 
bridge  and  Embury,  15,  16 — Priority  of  the  Pipe,  or  Sam's  Creek 
Society  and  Log  Meeting-house,  15-17 — Richard  Owen,  the  first 
Native  American  Methodist  preacher,  18 — Strawbridge's  labors,  and 
his  success,  15-20 — First  Methodist  society  in  Baltimore  county, 
at  Daniel  Evans's,  19 — Early  Methodists  in  Maryland — Maynard, 
Evans,  Bonham,  Walker,  Hagerty,  Warfield,  Durbin,  Saxton,  Owen, 
Merryman,  Stephenson,  Perigo,  Webster,  Bond,  Gatch,  16-20 — 
Strawbridge's  person,  family,  death,  and  burial,  22,  23. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Leading  events  in  Queen  Anne's  reign,  23 — Her  good  character,  23, 
24 — Dr.  Roberts  of  Baltimore  ;  his  account  of  the  Palatines,  24-9 — 
Mr.  Wesley's  account  of  the  same  people,  29. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Philip  Embury  forms  a  Methodist  society  in  New  York,  in  1766,  30 — 
Captain  Webb  assists  Embury  in  New  York,  in  1767,  30 — Wesley 
Chapel  erected  in  1768,  31 — Embury  leaves  New  York  city,  and 
settles  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.  ;  raises  up  a  society ;  his  death, 
character,  and  family,  32,  33 — Webb's  labors  and  success  in  New 
York,  34— Cost  of  Wesley  Chapel,  34— First  Methodists  in  Ncav 
York — Embury,  Heck,  Morrell,  White,  Sause,  Taylor,  Lupton,  New- 
ton, Jarvis,  Selby,  Sands,  Chave,  Staples,  Brinkley,  Dean,  Marching- 
ton,  30-38 — First  parsonage,  39. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Captain  Webb  preaches,  and  raises  a  society  of  Methodists  in  Pliihi- 
delphia,  39 — A  sail-loft  the  birth-place  of  Methodism  in  this  city, 
40 — Dr.  Wrangle  prepared  the  way  for  Methodism,  40,  41 — First 
class  of  Methodists;  their  first  leader,  41 — First  Methodists  in  Phila- 
delphia— Emerson,  Pennington,  Fitzgerald,  Hood,  Wilmer,  Steward, 
Wallace,  Croft,  Evans,  Montgomery,  Dowers,  Beach,  Thorn,  Patterson, 
Baker,  41-4. 


^fiRoni  ^"'^ 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

St.  George's  built  by  the  German  Reformed  Brethren,  the  first  Board 
of  Trustees,  45 — Bought  by  the  Methodists;  the  first  Methodist 
Board,  45 — The  British  use  it  during  the  war,  46 — The  various 
stages  by  which  it  was  finished,  47 — Fitzgerald,  the  germ  of  Ebe- 
nezer,  48 — Bethel,  in  Montgomery  county,  48 — Supplee's,  48 — Je- 
mima Wilkinson,  49. 

CHAPTER  YI. 

Captain  Webb  raises  up  Methodism  in  New  Jersey ;  Burlington ; 
Joseph  Toy,  50 — New  Mills,  or  Peraberton,  50,  51 — Trenton,  52 — 
Carpenter's  Landing,  53 — Pittsgrove,  53 — Mount  Holly,  54 — Lum- 
berton,  54 — Haddonfield,  55 — First  Methodists  in  Jersey — Budd, 
Hancock,  Heisler,  Singer,  Cotts,  Chew,  Taper,  Toy,  Thorne,  Turner, 
Johnson,  Jenkins,  Early,  Ayars,  Murphy,  Price,  Smith,  Abbott,  55. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Captain  Webb  raises  up  Methodism  in  New  Castle,  Wilmington,  and 
other  places  in  Delaware,  56 — First  Methodists  in  Delaware — Fur- 
ness,  Stedham,  Tussey,  Hersey,  Webster,  Cloud,  Ford,  56-8 — Cap- 
tain Webb's  field  of  labor  ;  Hon.  John  Adams's  testimony  concerning 
his  preaching  ;  goes  to  England  ;  dies  ;  his  children,  60-2. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Robert  Williams  arrives  in  New  York,  62 — Messrs.  Boardman  and 
Pilmoor  arrive,  63 — John  Mann,  64 — Pilmoor  in  Philadelphia,  65 — 
John  King,  65. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Boardman,  Pilmoor,  and  Williams,  in  1770,  66 — King  in  Maryland  ; 
Bowman,  Baker ;  Presbury  introduces  Methodist  preaching  into 
Baltimore,  67-8 — Watters  family,  68 — Pilmoor  and  Boardman  visit 
Maryland,  69. 

CHAPTER  X. 

Pilmoor  and  Williams  visit  New  Rochelle  ;  Mrs.  Deveau's  dream  ;  her 
conversion,  70 — Where  Boardman  and  Pilmoor  labored  in  1771, 
71 — Methodism  spreads  in  Harford  county  ;  Giles,  Morgan,  Litten, 
Forward,  Baker,  Moore,  Sinclair,  Stanford,  Galloway,  Colgate, 
Merryman,  Evans,  Brown,  Stephenson,  Murry,  Simmes,  Rollin, 
Gatch,  Duke,  Bond,  Preston,  and  Dallam,  72. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Francis  Asbury  and  Richard  Wright  arrive  in  America  in  1771,  73 — 
Mr.  Wright  on  Bohemia  Man()r,73 — Mr.  Asbury's  early  life,  74 — 
He  goes  to  New  York  ;  the  first  friends  of  Methodism  on  Staten 
Island,  75 — Van  Pelt  in  Tennessee,  75-6 — Asbury's  circuit  around 
New  York  ;  first  friends  in  this  region,  Molloy,  Dr.  White,  Oakley, 
Deveau,  Hunt,  Ward,  Burling,  Bartoe,  Bonnette,  Pell,  and  Woglam, 
76-7. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Robert  Williams  in  Virginia,  78 — Mr.  Asbury  in  Philadelphia; 
preachers'  stations,  78— He  visits  Bohemia  Manor,  preaching  at 
New  Castle,  Ilersey's,  Wilmington,  Old  Chester,  and  in  Jersey,  78- 


CONTENTS.  V 

81 — Stations  of  the  preachers,  81 — Mr.  Pilmoor  in  Maryland,  81-2 — 
Mr.  Asbury  in  New  York,  82 — Abbott's  conversion,  82 — Mr.  Asbury  in 
Maryland,  on  the  Western  Shore,  83-5 — In  Cecil  and  Kent  counties, 
is  the  first  Methodist  preacher  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hinson's 
Chapel,  85 — Quarterly  meeting  ;  stations  the  preachers,  86 — The 
local  preachers  in  Maryland,  86. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Messrs.  Pilmoor,  Williams,  and  Watters,  in  Virginia,  87 — Methodism 
in  Fell's  Point,  and  in  Baltimore,  88 — First  Methodists  in  Balti- 
more— Patton,  IloUingsworth,  Wells,  Moale,  Robinson,  Woodward, 
Moore,  Rogers,  Owings,  Triplett,  Hulings,  White,  Chamier,  and 
Allison,  89,  90 — Asbury  forms  a  society  in  Baltimore,  90 — Two 
chapels  founded,  91. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Gatch  family ;  early  history  of  Philip  Gatch  ;  is  awakened  and 
converted,  and  begins  to  hold  meetings  ;  becomes  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Asbury  ;  strange  phenomenon  in  1772,  92-100. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Mr.  Pilmoor  goes  through  the  Carolinas  to  visit  Mr.  Whitefield's 
Orphan  House  in  Georgia,  100 — Williams  and  Watters  in  Virginia, 
100 — Mr.  Asbury  in  Maryland,  101 — Mr.  Asbury  goes  to  Philadel- 
phia ;  to  New  York,  and  forms  a  society  at  New  Rochelle,  102 — 
Messrs.  Rankin,  Shadford,  Yearberry,  and  Webb,  arrive  from  Eng- 
land ;  Messrs.  Rankin  and  Shadford's  early  history,  103-9 — Benjamin 
Abbott,  109. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

First  Annual  Conference  held  in  Philadelphia,  111 — Who  composed  it, 
111 — How  the  preachers  w^ere  stationed,  112 — Mr.  Gatch  begins  to 
itinerate  in  Jersey,  113 — Mr.  Watters  on  Kent  Circuit,  Maryland; 
Parson  Cain  ;  preaching  in  Queen  Anne's  county,  115 — Mr.  Asbury 
in  Baltimore  Circuit,  116 — Early  societies  in  Maryland,  117 — Mr. 
Wright  in  Virginia,  117 — Mr.  Williams  in  North  Carolina,  118 — 
Concluding  account  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor,  118-19. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Second  Conference  in  Philadelphia,  119— Messrs.  Watters  and  Ruff 
in  Jersey  and  in  Pennsylvania,  120— Mr.  Ebert,  121— Chester  Cir- 
cuit, 121-2— Colonel  North,  124. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Kent  Circuit,  126— First  Methodist  chapel  on  the  Peninsula,  126— 
Abraham  Whitworth  on  Kent ;  Parson  Cain,  or  Kain  ;  Whitworth's 
apostacy  and  expulsion  ;  his  end,  128-9. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Mr.  Shadford  and  the  Jerseyman  dreams,  130 — Mr.  Shadford  in  Balti- 
more ;  Joseph  Cromwell,  132— Richard  Webster,  Robert  Lindsay, 
Edward  Drumgole,  133— Mr.  Rankin  in  Maryland,  134. 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Frederick  Circuit,  134— Philip  Gatch  on  Frederick  Circuit,  135 — Gatch 
follows  "Whitworth  on  Kent  Circuit,  136 — Parson  Kain,  137 — Awful 
storm,  138 — Mr.  Gatch  returns  to  Frederick  Circuit;  persecution, 
139— Mr.  Gatch  in  Jersey,  139. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Brunswick  Circuit,  139 — The  oldest  Methodist  societies  in  Virginia, 
140_John  AVade,  141— Isaac  RoUin,  141— Samuel  Spragg,  142. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Third  Conference  in  Philadelphia,  143 — James  Dempster,  143 — Mr. 
Webster  on  Chester  Circuit — James  Barton's  dream,  144— Mr,  Web- 
ster in  fine,  145 — Philip  Gatch  and  John  Cooper  on  Kent  Circuit — 
Parson  Kain  again,  146 — Messrs.  Rankin  and  Webb  at  quarterly 
meeting  in  St.  Luke's  parish,  in  1775,  147 — Mr.  Gatch  on  Baltimore 
and  Frederick  Circuits.  He  is  tarred  by  a  persecuting  mob,  148-9— 
The  young  man  nearly  whipped  to  death,  Martin  Rodda,  150 — Rich- 
ard Owen  in  fine,  150 — Great  revival  on  Frederick  Circuit,  151 — 
Mr.  Asbury  in  Virginia  for  the  first  time,  151 — William  Glenden- 
ning,  152 — Philip  Embury  and  Robert  Williams  die,  152-3. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

A  sketch  of  Henry  Dorsey  Gough's  life  and  death ;  also  of  Mrs. 
Prudence  Gough  and  their  daughter  and  descendants,  154-6 — Rev. 
T.  B.  Sargent,  157. 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson's  parentage,  early  history,  conviction,  conver- 
tion,  and  life  before  he  entered  on  the  work  of  an  itinerant,  157-162. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Mr.  Garrettson  on  Kent  Circuit,  in  1776 ;  introduces  Methodism  into 
Tuckeyhoe  Neck ;  Ezekiel  Cooper,  John  Cooper,  Connor,  Downs, 
Smith,  Sharp,  Martendale,  Neal,  William  Cooper ;  strange  phenome- 
non, 162-3-4-5. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

First  Conference  in  Baltimore,  166 — Mr.  Fairfax  and  others  of  wealth 
and  position  among  the  Methodists,  167 — Nicholas  Watters,  167 — 
William  Wren,  168 — James  Foster,  168 — Mr.  Asbury  in  Maryland, 
168 — Mr.  Garrettson  received  and  sent  to  Frederick  Circuit,  next  to 
Fairfax,  then  to  Berkley,  169-70 — Mr.  Watters  in  Fairfax  and  Berk- 
ley Circuits,  170 — Mr.  Gatch  in  Virginia,  171-2 — Mr.  Pilmoor  the 
first  Methodist  preacher  in  North  Carolina,  173 — The  chief  families 
who  became  Methodists  in  North  Carolina  in  the  beginning,  173-4 — 
Isham  Tatum,  174 — Francis  Poythress,  174-6 — Mr.  Shadford's  great 
success  in  Brunswick  Circuit,  176 — Mr.  Rankin  in  Virginia;  great 
meeting  ;   his  presentiment,  177-8. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Some  account  of  Samuel  Davies,  Devereux,  Jarrett,  Mr.  Robinson, 
Shadford,  and  Asbury  ;  great  meetings  ;  Mr.  Jarrett's  death  ;  Messrs. 
Asbury  and  Lee's  testimony,  178-185. 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  names  of  some  two  or  three  hundred  of  the  first  families  who 
became  Methodists  in  Virginia,  186-8. 

CHAPTER  XXIX.' 

Mr.  Shadford  near  perishing  as  he  came  from  Virginia,  188 — Mr. 
Asbury  about  Annapolis  ;  the  first  Methodists  of  this  region,  189 — 
Conference  at  Deer  Creek,  in  1777 ;  tender  time,  190 — Mr.  Watters 
■went  to  Brunswick  Circuit,  where  he  met  with  holy  people,  191 — 
Mr.  Gatch  in  Virginia ;  his  persecutions,  191-2 — Mr.  Garrettson  on 
Brunswick  Circuit,  and  in  North  Carolina,  192 — Mr.  Asbury  in 
Maryland  ;  strange  account  from  Shadrach  Turner,  193 — Mr,  Rodda 
on  Kent  Circuit :  flies  to  the  British,  193 — Howe's  men  interrupt  a 
watch-meeting  in  New  York,  194 — Mr.  Rankin  in  fine ;  the  last  wit- 
ness gone,  194-5. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Preachers  received  on  trial,  in  1777 :  Joseph  Reese,  Hollis  Hanson, 
Robert  Wooster,  Samuel  Strong,  Edward  Pride,  Edward  Bailey, 
Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  AV^illiam  Gill,  John  Tunnell,  John  Littlejohn, 
John  Dickins,  Le  Roy  Cole,  Reuben  Ellis,  Joseph  Cromwell,  and 
Thomas  S.  Chew,  195-201. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Methodism  entered  Talbot  county  in  1777,  202 — Also,  Kent  county, 
Del.,  Thomas's,  Shaw's,  Dr.  White's,  Layton's,  Jump's,  and  Wil- 
liams's, in  Mispillion,  202 — The  same  year  it  found  its  way  into 
Sussex  county,  at  Twyford's,  Layton's,  and  Cedar  Creek,  202 — Mr. 
Shadford  ends  his  labors  in  America,  at  a  quarterly  meeting,  at  Mr. 
White's,  is  secreted  from  his  enemies,  leaves  Mr.  Asbury,  and  re- 
turns to  England ;  his  last  days  and  his  happy  death,  203-4-5 — Mr. 
Asbury  on  the  Peninsula,  in  1778;  stops  preaching;  is  concealed 
among  the  Whites  for  a  while  ;  Mr.  White  is  abducted ;  Mr.  Asbury 
hides  himself  near  Fogwell's,  or  Holden's,  or  StuUtown ;  he  returns 
to  White's,  and  commences  itinerating  again,  preaching  at  Wil- 
liams's, in  Mispillion,  205-11. 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

First  Conference  in  Virginia,  at  Leesburg,  212 — .Joseph  Hartley  on 
Kent  Circuit ;  put  in  confinement  in  Queen  Anne's  county,  213 — Mr. 
Garrettson  on  Kent,  in  1778  ;  is  beaten  by  John  Brown  ;  goes  into 
North  West  Fork ;  into  Talbot  county ;'  to  Mispillion,  Murderkill  ; 
Caleb  Boyer  awakened ;  Rev.  ]Mr.  Heston's  house  visited  by  British 
soldiers ;  Methodism  goes  into  Dover,  213-217 — Mr.  Garrettson  com- 
mences Methodism  at  Broad  Creek,  218 — Also  at  Quantico,  in  Somer- 
set county,  219 — His  brother  -John  Garrettson's  happy  death,  219, 
220— The  spiritual  children  of  Mr.  Garrettson  on  the  Peninsula,  220 
— Mr.  Turner,  of  Jersey,  introduces  Methodism  into  the  lower  end 
of  New  Castle  county;  Lewis  Alfree,  221. 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Preachers  who  began  to  itinerate  in  1778 :  Robert  Cloud,  Richard 
Ogburn,  Daniel  Duvall,  John  Beck,  William  Moore,  James  O'Kelly, 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Richard  Ivy,  John  Major,  Henry  Willis ;  Philip  Gatch  locates  and 
marries,  222-5. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Mr.  Asbury  goes  into  Kent  into  a  circuit  around  Dover,  226 — Mr. 
Garrettson  raises  up  Methodism  at  the  Sound,  in  Sussex  county, 
Del.,  226-7— Conference  at  Judge  White's,  228 — Methodism  raised  up 
at  St.  Johnstown,  229 — Mr.  Garrettson  introduces  Methodism  into 
Lewistown,  230 — He  is  in  North  West  Fork ;  great  day's  work  by 
him,  231 — Mr.  Hartley  in  jail  in  Easton,  Md. ;  marries,  locates,  and 
dies ;  quarterly  meetings  ;  great  meetings  ;  first  chapel  in  Delaware, 
232-4. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Mr.  Garrettson  in  Philadelphia ;  in  New  Jersey ;  Achsah  Borden's 
strange  case ;  healed  in  William  Budd's  house,  at  New  Mills,  234- 
5 — Mr.  Abbott's  first  itinerating  tour  in  Jersey,  235-7 — Poetry  on 
him,  238 — Mr.  James  Sterling  becomes  a  Methodist ;  also  she  who 
became  his  wife,  239-40. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Old  Forrest  Demour,  240 — Martin  Beam  ;  Mennonlsts  ;  great  meetings 
at  Mr.  Beam's;  intimacy  between  him  and  Mr.  Asbury,  who  preached 
his  funeral,  240-243— William  Watters,  243— William  Duke,  243-4. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

Preachers  received  in  1779:  Thomas  Morris,  Stith  Parham,  Carter 
Cole,  Greenberry  Green,  Andrew  Yeargan,  Charles  Hopkins,  James 
Morris,  Henry  Ogburn,  Richard  Garrettson,  Micaijah  Debruler, 
Samuel  Rowe,  John  Hagarty,  William  Adams,  Joshua  Dudley,  Lewis 
Alfree,  244-46 — Philip  Cox,  Captain  Dill ;  Cox  in  Virginia ;  the 
calf;  he  is  arrested;  Enoch  George,  246-9 — Nelson  Read,  249. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Mr.  Garrettson  introduces  Methodist  preaching  into  Dorchester  county, 
Md.;  Ennalls,  Aire3%  Garrettson  in  Cambridge  jail,  249-53 — Meth- 
odism prospering  on  the  Peninsula  under  Asbury,  Pedicord,  Crom- 
well, and  Garrettson,  253. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

A  summary  account  of  the  introduction  of  Methodism  on  the  Penin- 
sula, giving  dates  and  names  of  the  chief  families  who  received  the 
preachers  and  the  preaching  ;  also  the  founding  of  the  first  chapels, 
254-62.  1  =.  «  i'     ' 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Mr.  Garrettson  on  Baltimore  Circuit;  on  the  Peninsula,  263— Mr. 
Pedicord  preserved ;  Leah  Hirons,  Lemuel  Davis,  263-4— Mr.  Pedi- 
cord beaten  in  Dorset,  264 — Thomas  Ilaskins  becomes  a  Methodist, 
265— Barratt's  Chapel,  265— Other  chapels,  266. 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Judge  Thomas  White,  his  history  ;  also  Mrs.  Mary  White's  ;  notice  of 
their  children  ;  a  visit  to  Judge  White's  homestead,  267-71. 


CONTENTS.  IX 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


tichard  Bassett ;  his  interview  with  Mr.  Asbury ;  entertains  him ; 
becomes  religious  ;  camp-meetings  ;  in  public  life ;  his  funeral ;  Bohe- 
mia Manor,  272-78. 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

!'he  division  on  account  of  the  ordinances ;  healed,  280 — Mr.  Asbury 
first  in  North  Carolina,  280— Black  Harry  first  noticed,  281— Wil- 
liam Watters  in  fine,  283— Mr.  Gatch  in  Virginia,  in  1780,  283-5. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

^Ir.  Mair  receives  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anderson  into  the  Methodist  society, 
285 — Mr.  Abbott's  only  preaching  tour  in  Pennsylvania;  Mr.  Beam's; 
Coventry ;  David  Ford's ;  Cloud's  ;  Wilmington  ;  New  Castle,  285-92. 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

n  1780  Methodism  prospers  in  New  Jersey  ;  it  is  planted  in  Cumber- 
land, Cape  May,  and  Monmouth  counties  ;  John  James ;  Captain 
Sears  ;  Mr.  Ware's  account  of  the  work  in  Jersey,  293,  302. 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Preachers  who  began  to  itinerate  in  1780:  George  Moore,  Stephen 
Black,  Samuel  Watson,  James  Martin,  Moses  Park,  William  Part- 
ridge, James  0.  Cromwell,  John  James,  George  Mair,  Caleb  Boyer, 
and  Thomas  Foster,  303-5. 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

^r.  Garrettson  introduced  Methodism  into  Little  York,  307-8 — He  is 
instrumental  in  delivering  a  distressed  mother,  who  thought  she  had 
sold  her  children  to  the  devil ;  many  are  stirred  up  to  inquire  the 
way  to  heaven,  309 — Mr.  Pedicord  in  Jersey ;  Mr.  Ware's  conver- 
sion, 310-11 — Mr.  Asbury  in  Pennsylvania,  312. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

Ilonference  at  Judge  White's  and  in  Baltimore,  312 — Mr.  Asbury  in 
New  Virginia,  313 — Richard  Williams  among  the  Indians,  314-16 — 
Blackiston's  Chapel  built,  317. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

^r.  Abbott  on  Kent  Circuit,  Md. ;  extraordinary  meetings ;  "  Thun- 
dergust  Sermon,"  318-21 — Mr.  Garrettson  in  Virginia ;  a  man  in  a 
trance  ;  Mr.  Garrettson  in  North  Carolina,  322. 

CHAPTER  L. 

Preachers  who  became  itinerants  in  1781 :  James  Mallory,  James  Cole- 
man, Adam  Cloud,  Enoch  Matson,  Charles  Scott,  323-4 — Beverly 
Allen  shoots  Major  Forsyth,  dies  in  Kentucky,  324-5 — Ignatius 
Pigman  turns  lawyer,  defends  Jacob  Gruber,  325 — James  Haw 
goes  to  Kentucky  and  joins  the  Presbyterians,  325 — Henry  Metcalf, 
Samuel  Dudley,  Edward  Morris,  James  White,  Jeremiah  Lambert, 
David  Abbott,  Joseph  Wyatt,  Michael  Ellis,  Jonathan  Forrest,  and 
Philip  Bruce,  326-28. 


CONTENTS. 

Z 

CHAPTER  LI. 

4-  ^f  himself  328-31— Mr.  Asbury  m 

and  Bister  Yeargan,  333-4. 

CHAPTER  LII. 
Fi.t  conference  at  which  Je.se  Lee  v^as;  g-^^^^Xttrf  e^r 
SjcrsstsrSo?  :'ode^rintela«a.e  county,  Pa..  ra.ed  up  ; 
the  first  chapel,  340. 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

Methodism  introduced  into  ^^^^^^l.'^^^^^^^  Md'^Ir-'^Garrrtt 
342-44— Prudence  Hudson,  345— Deal  s  islana,  ^  '  ^  .  347 
son's  Dream,  346-Mr.  Garrettson  ^^  ^elaware  Jones  s^ec, 
—Mr.  Robert  N.  Carnan  becomes  a  Methodist,  ^48-J— ^^J-  S^^a  , 
Oueen  Anne's,  his  hounds;  Thomas  Wright  whipped  by  Ins  Uther 
for  befomTng  a  Methodist,  350-1-Friendship ;  Rev.  Jesse  Lee 
begins  to  itinerate,  351. 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

andGenefal  Bryan  brought  to  God  under  his  ministry;  the  c^oua 
dispersed  in  answer  to  his  prayer,  856— Thomas  Haskins  ;  (jirara  ; 
Mr.  Haskins's  death,  357— Peter  Moriarty,  his  sudden  death,  his  son, 
357_8_Mr.  Asbury  in  the  South  ;  poverty  and  privation  among  the 
people,  and  religion  prospering,  358. 

CHAPTER  LY. 

Mr.  Abbott's  great  preaching  tour  in  New  Jersey  in  1783,  359-65 ;  Mr. 
Abbott's  great  faith,  366. 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

Methodism  introduced  into  Lower  Penn's  Neck  by  Mr.  Abbott  and 
others,  366-8— Methodism  raised  up  in  Salem,  N.  J.,  369-70 — Per- 
secution ;  awful  end  of  a  young  woman ;  a  trance,  371. 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

Methodism  planted  in  Salisbury,  N.  C. ;  Mrs.  Fishburn,  372-6— Con- 
ference of  1783,  377— Rev.  Joseph  Everett,  377— Mr.  Asbury  in 
Maryland  ;  singular  occurrences,  377-8— Asbury  at  Beam's  for  the 
first  time,  378— Dudley's  Chapel  built  this  year,  379— Last  notice  of 
Joseph  Hartley,  379— Mr.  Garrettson,  379-80. 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

Preachers  received  on  trial  in  1783 :  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  his  early  history 
and  experience,  381-2— Rev.  Lemuel  Green,  383— Dr.  Phoebus,  383 

^^latthew  Greentree,  Thomas  Curtis,  Francis  Spry,  James  Thomas, 

William  Wrio-ht,   Richard  Swift,   Joshua   Worley,  James  Hinton, 


CONTENTS.  XI 

William  llingold,  William  Dameron,  William  Cannon,  Benjamin 
Roberts,  Samuel  Breeze,  Tliomas  Bowen,  Henry  Merritt,  Thomas 
Anderson,  Thomas  Humphreys,  384-5 — Thomas  Ware ;  his  early 
history  and  experience,  385-7 — Mr,  Pedicord's  letter  to  him,  387-8 
— Mr.  Asbury  in  the  South,  389 — Unhappy  end  of  Isaac  Rollin, 
389-90. 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

Redstone  Circuit,  391 — Mr.  Simon  Cochran,  391 — Thomas  Lakin,  392 
— Mr.  J.  J.  Jacob,  392 — Mr.  John  Jones  and  his  son  Rev.  Green- 
berry  R.  Jones  ;  Beesontown,  or  Uniontown,  393 — Juniata  Circuit ; 
Michael  Cryder,  393 — Robert  Pennington  in  Penn's  Valley,  394 — 
Joseph  Everett,  394 — Wesley  Chapel  in  Dover,  395 — Mr.  Ware  on 
Kent  Circuit,  396— Mr.  Lee,  in  1784,  397-8. 

CHAPTER  LX. 

Preachers  received  on  trial,  in  1784:  Thomas  Ware,  John  Phillips, 
Richard  Smith,  David  Jefferson,  John  Robertson,  John  Fidler,  James 
Riggin,  Elijah  Ellis,  Simon  Pyle,  Thomas  Jackson,  William  Jessup, 
399_Wilson  Lee,  400-1— John  Smith,  402— Isaac  Smith,  402-3— 
Thomas  Vasey,  404— Richard  Whatcoat,  404-6— Thomas  Coke,  406-9. 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

Quarterly  meeting  at  Barratt's  Chapel ;  Mr.  Asbury  meets  Dr.  Coke 
and  Messrs.  Vasey  and  Whatcoat,  410 — The  Christmas  Conference 
fixed  upon,  410 — Dr.  Coke  commences  the  circuit  of  the  Peninsula  at 
Judge  White's  ;  Black  Harry  was  his  driver,  410-11 — Messrs.  As- 
bury, Whatcoat,  and  Vasey,  411-12 — The  Christmas  Conference 
commences ;  the  work  done  at  it,  412-13 — The  preachers  who  com- 
posed this  Conference,  413 — Mr.  Wesley's  prayer-book,  414 — Sum- 
mary of  the  effects  produced  by  the  labors  of  Methodist  preachers  ; 
the  extent  of  the  Methodists,  and  the  number  of  their  chapels,  416- 
17 — Why  Methodism  spread  more  rapidly  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line  than  north  of  it,  417-18 — Dr.  Coke's  tour  through  the  country 
after  the  Christmas  Conference  until  his  return  to  England,  418-20 
— Death  of  Pedicord  and  Mair,  420. 

CHAPTER  LXIL 

Israel  Disosway,  wife,  and  children ;  first  class  on  Staten  Island,  421- 
22 — Robert  Duncan  and  wife,  422-3 — Abraham  Russell,  wife,  and 
children,  423-4 — Andrew  Mercein  and  his  family,  424 — George 
Suckley  and  family,  424 — Stephen  Dando  and  Mary  Dando,  424-5 — 
Philip  J.  Arcularius  and  his  wife  and  children,  425 — Gilbert  Coutant 
and  family,  425-6 — Thomas  Carpenter  and  family,  426 — Peter  and 
Mary  Williams,  426. 

CHAPTER  LXIII. 

Methodist  Episcopal  churches  in  the  consolidated  city  of  Philadelphia, 
numbering  some  fifty-three,  427-34. 

Statistical  Table,  435. 


A    HISTORY 


RISE  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

If  we  were  permitted  to  behold  the  panorama  of  Divine 
Providence,  and  see  how  the  Lord  wisely  works  all  things, 
after  the  counsel  of  His  will,  we  should  be  filled  with 
astonishment,  and  overwhelmed  with  the  view.  While  Mr. 
"Wesley's  heart  and  hands  were  filled  with  the  great  work 
to  which  he  had  been  called,  in  England,  Wales,  Ireland, 
and  Scotland,  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  whose  proper 
work  it  was,  provided  the  instrumentalities  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  Methodism  into  America. 

As  the  rising  of  the  springs,  moistening  the  surface  of  the 
earth  in  time  of  drought,  is  promise  of  coming  showers,  so 
the  well-intended  labors  of  Messrs.  John  and  Charles 
Wesley  in  Georgia,  in  1736-7,  were  providential  preludes 
and  pledges  of  what  commenced  some  years  afterwards 
through  Strawbridge,  Embury,  Webb,  Williams,  Boardman, 
Pilmoor,  King,  and  others.  After  the  Wesleys  had  preached 
a  short  time  in  Georgia,  and  had  formed  a  society  for 
religious  benefit,  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  embarked  for  England; 
but,  by  stress  of  weather,  he  was  driven  into  Boston,  where 
he  preached  a  few  sermons  which  greatly  pleased  the  clergy 
and  people,  after  which  he  reached  the  land  of  his  nativity. 
Mr.  John  Wesley,  after  remaining  in  America  more  than  a 
year,  during  which  time  he  visited  and  preached  in  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  also  returned  home,  and  neither  of 
them  ever  came  to  this  country  afterwards. 

About  the  time  Mr.  John  Wesley  reached  England,  Mr. 
George  Whitefield  sailed   for  Georgia,  for  the  purpose  of 


14  ;     .'     '.  •'.         RISE  OF  METHODISM  [1737-8-9. 

assisting  Mr/ Wesley  in  his  labors  of  love.  In  1739,  the 
e'p'och.of  ;Meib.O(jii:sm  in  England,  the  inhabitants  of  Phila- 
(leiph"ia,tlieii  the  tfondon  of  this  nation,  first  listened  to  and 
:iy(?i:e  iittraQte(i  a;ad  captivated  by  pulpit  oratory  and  elo- 
queni3«-t0WAi:ch  .they  had  been  unaccustomed,  from  one  "Who 
sent  his  soul  with  every  lance  he  threw."  The  pulpit  of 
Christ's  Church  in  Second  Street,  was  subsequently  opened 
to  this  interesting  minister,  who  was  as  ready  to  speak,  as 
the  audience  was  to  hear.*  He  soon  gathered  around  him 
such  ministers  as  Gilbert,  and  William  Tennant,  Blair, 
Rowland,  and  Davenport, — kindred  spirits.  At  one  time, 
after  these  godly  ministers  had  exercised  their  impressive 
ministry  on  the  people  of  Philadelphia  for  a  week,  the  effect 
produced  was,  the  closing  up  of  all  places  of  sinful  amusement, 
— turning  the  current  of  conversation  of  the  citizens  to  the 
truth  preached, — and  rendering  all  books,  except  such  as 
treated  of  religion,  unsaleable.  Subsequently  Mr.  White- 
field  preached  the  essential  truth  of  Christianity,  in  almost 
every  neighborhood  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  between  the 
Alleghany  and  the  Atlantic.  Many  thousands  were  awa- 
kened, some  of  whom  v/ere  afterwards  found  among  the 
followers  of  Wesley,  when  they  organized  societies  in  this 
country. 

Mr.  Wesley  says  : — 

"1.  In  the  year  1736,  it  pleased  God  to  begin  a  work 
of  grace  in  the  newly  planted  colony  of  Georgia ;  then  the 
southernmost  of  our  settlements  on  the  continent  of  America. 
To  those  English  who  had  settled  there  the  year  before, 
were  then  added  a  body  of  Moravians,  so  called ;  and  a 
larger  body  who  had  been  expelled  from  Germany  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Saltzburg.  These  were  men  truly  fearing 
God  and  working  righteousness.  At  the  same  time  there 
began  an  awakening  among  the  English,  both  at  Savannah 
and  Frederica ;  many  inquiring  what  they  must  do  to  be 
saved,  and  'bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance.' 

*'  2.  In  the  same  year  there  broke  out  a  wonderful  work 
of  God  in  several  parts  of  New  England.  It  began  in 
Northampton,  and  in  a  little  time  appeared  in  the  adjoining 
towns.  A  particular  and  beautiful  account  of  this  was 
published  by  Mr.  Edwards,  minister  of  Northampton.  Many 
sinners  were  deeply  convinced  of  sin,  and  many  truly 
converted  to  God.  I  suppose  there  had  been  no  instance  in 
America,  of  so  swift  and  deep  a  work  of  grace,  for  a  hundred 

*  Watson's  Annals,  vol.  i.,  p.  385. 


1737-8-9.]  IN   AMERICA.  15 

years  before ;    nay,  nor  perhaps   since  the  English  settled 
there. 

"  3.  The  following  year,  the  work  of  God  spread,  by 
degrees,  from  New  England  towards  the  south.  At  the 
same  time  it  advanced  by  slow  degrees  from  Georgia  towards 
the  north :  in  a  few  souls  it  deepened  likewise ;  and  some  of 
them  witnessed  a  good  confession,  both  in  life  and  in  death. 

"4.  In  the  year  1738,  Mr.  Whitefield  came  over  to 
Georgia,  with  a  design  to  assist  me  in  preaching,  either  to 
the  English  or  the  Indians.  But  as  I  was  embarked  for 
England  before  he  arrived,  he  preached  to  the  English  alto- 
gether ;  first  in  Georgia,  to  which  his  chief  service  was  due, 
then  in  South  and  North  Carolina,  and  afterwards  in  the 
intermediate  provinces,  till  he  came  to  New  England.  And 
all  men  owned  that  God  was  with  him,  wheresoever  he  went ; 
giving  a  general  call,  to  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  to 
'repent  and  believe  the  gospel.'  Many  were  not  disobe- 
dient to  the  heavenly  calling  ;  they  did  repent  and  believe 
the  gospel;  and  by  his  ministry  a  line  of  communication 
was  formed,  quite  from  Georgia  to  New  England. 

"  5.  Within  a  few  years  he  made  several  more  voyages  to 
America,  and  took  several  more  journeys  through  the 
provinces ;  and  in  every  journey  he  found  fresh  reason  to 
bless  God,  who  still  prospered  the  work  of  his  hands ;  there 
being  more  and  more  in  all  the  provinces,  who  found  his 
word  to  be  'the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.'  " 

In  1760,  as  the  Rev.  George  M.  Roberts  of  Baltimore 
has  most  indubitably  shown,  in  his  able  letters  in  the 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  in  1858,  Robert  Straw- 
bridge  and  Philip  Embury  both  arrived  in  this  country — 
these  lay-preachers  began  the  organizations  of  Wesleyan 
Methodism,  which  have  since  been  made  permanent  in 
Maryland  and  New  York;  and  they  both  came  from  the 
region  of  the  river  Shannon  in  Ireland. 

The  Rev.  William  Hamilton,  in  an  able  article  in  the 
Methodist  Quarterly  Review  for  July  1856,  tells  us  that 
*'  Mr.  Strawbridge  was  a  native  of  Drummer's  Nave,  near 
Carrick,  on  Shannon,  county  Leitrim,  Ireland."  On  arriv- 
ing in  this  country  he  settled  on  Sam's  Creek,  Frederick 
county,  Maryland.  In  Dr.  Roberts's  letters,  referred  to 
above,  we  are  assured,  that,  as  soon  as  Mr.  Strawbridge  had 
arranged  his  house,  he  began  to  preach  in  it,  as  early  as 
1760 ;  and,  beside  the  appointment  in  his  own  house,  he  had 
another  at  John  Maynard's  house,  in  1762,  who  was  a 
Methodist,  and  where  he  baptized  his  brother  Henry  May- 


16  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1760-2. 

nard  at  a  spring,  in  1762.  Soon  as  Mr.  Strawbridge  com- 
menced his  labors  in  Maryland,  the  Lord  began  to  work  in 
his  hearers,  and  a  society  was  formed  as  early  as  1762,  or 
1763. 

Dr.  Roberts  speaks  thus  : — 

"Robert  Strawbridge. — I  am  gratified  to  be  able  to 
say  also,  that  in  reference  to  the  labors  of  this  excellent  and 
useful  servant  of  God,  our  knowledge  is  not  merely  con- 
jectural ;  I  have  in  my  possession  some  letters,  written  by 
different  individuals,  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  and 
without  any  concert  upon  their  part,  which  disclose  some 
interesting  facts ;  I  have  space  only  to  notice  a  few.  Mr. 
Michael  Laird,  who  subsequently  settled  in  Philadelphia, 
was  born  April  30,  1771.  He  obtained  his  knowledge  of 
these  points  from  his  father,  who  was  intimate  w^th  Mr. 
Strawbridge,  and  fully  conversant  with  the  truth  of  what  is 
stated  in  his  letter.  Mr.  Strawbridge  came  to  America  in 
1760,  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  settled  in  Maryland. 
Immediately  after  arranging  his  dwelling  he  opened  it  for 
Divine  service,  and  continued  to  preach  therein  regularly. 
These  efforts  soon  after  resulted  in  the  awakening  and 
conversion  of  several  who  attended. 

"  In  another  communication  I  ascertain  that  Henry  May- 
nard  was  baptized  (by  Robert  Strawbridge)  when  he  was 
but  six  or  seven  years  old.  At  that  time  Mr.  S.  was 
preaching  regularly  at  John  Maynard's,  a  brother  of  Henry. 
Henry  accompanied  his  father  to  one  of  these  appointments, 
and  Mr.  S.  baptized  him  at  the  spring. 

"  Henry  Maynard  died  in  1837,  aged  eighty-one  years. 
This  fixes  his  baptism  as  early  as  1762.  John  Maynard,  at 
whose  house  Mr.  Strawbridge  was  then  preaching,  was 
himself  a  Methodist.  This  renders  it  positive  that  Mr.  S. 
had  been  engaged  in  preaching  regularly  prior  to  1762,  and 
fully  corroborates  the  statement  contained  in  Mr.  Laird's 
letter,  viz.  :  that  he  commenced  his  labors  in  the  ministry 
immediately  after  his  settlement  in  Maryland." 

This  society.  Brother  Hamilton  informs  us,  consisted  of 
"  twelve  or  fifteen  persons."  After  Bishop  Asbury  was  fully 
informed  on  the  subject,  he  entered  in  his  Journal,  in  1801, 
soon  after  he  ended  the  business  of  the  Baltimore  Conference, 
which  sat  this  year  at  Pipe  Creek,  his  testimony  on  the  sub- 
ject;  he  says,  "here  Mr.  Strawbridge  formed  the  first 
society  in  Maryland — and  America.''  See  his  Journal,  vol. 
iii.  p.  27.  Brother  Hamilton  furnishes  the  names  of  a  few 
of  the  original  members — "David  Evans,  his  wife  and  sister. 


1764-72.]  IN   AMERICA.  17 

Mrs.  Bennett,  now  in  her  eighty-ninth  year,"  with  a  few 
more,  "  embraced  the  Methodist  religion  under  Mr.  Straw- 
bridge."  Mrs.  Bennett  says,  from  her  knowledge,  "the 
society  was  first  formed  at  Strawbridge's  house."  Soon 
afterwards,  i.  e.  about  17G4  or  1765,  "  the  Log  meeting- 
house was  erected,  about  a  mile  from  Mr.  Strawbridge's  resi- 
dence, and  the  preaching  and  meeting  the  class  were  at  the 
Log  chapel.  This  place,  Mr.  Hamilton  avers,  takes  pre- 
cedence of  any  other  Methodist  chapel  in  this  country,  by 
about  three  years  ;  it  was  built,  through  Mr.  Strawbridge's 
influence,  on  Pipe  or  Sam's  Creek. 

In  the  Autobiography  of  the  Rev.  James  B.  Finley,  we 
have  an  account,  on  pp.  262-3,  of  two  of  the  early  Metho- 
dists of  Pipe  Creek.  He  says — "  I  was  travelling  a  solitary 
path  in  the  woods,  between  Barnesville  and  Marietta,  Ohio, 
and  came  upon  an  old  man  of  the  most  grotesque  appear- 
ance, trudging  along  at  a  slow  rate,  half  bent,  with  an  axe 
and  two  broomsticks  on  his  shoulder.  As  I  approached 
him  I  said,  '  Well,  grandfather,  how  do  you  do  V  He  was  a 
German,  and  replied,  '  It  ish  wall.'  '  You  have  too  much  of 
a  load  to  carry.'  '  Yes,  but  I  can  go  not  often.'  'Where 
do  you  live  ?'  '  Shust  dare,'  pointing  to  a  small  cabin  on  the 
hill-side.  'You  seem  to  be  poor,  as  well  as  old.'  '0  yes, 
in  dis  vorld  I  has  noting ;  but  in  de  oder  vorld  I  has  a  king- 
dom.' 'Do  you  know  anything  about  that  kingdom  ?'  '  0 
yes.'  '  Do  you  love  God  V  '  Yes,  mid  all  my  heart ;  and 
Got  loves  me.'  '  How  long  a  time  have  you  been  loving 
God  V  '  Dis  fifty  years.'  '  Do  you  belong  to  any  church  V 
'  0  yes,  I  bese  a  Metodist.'  '  Where  did  you  join  the  Metho- 
dists ?'  'I  jine  de  Metodist  in  Maryland,  under  dat  grate 
man  of  Got,  Strawbridge,  on  Pipe  Creek — and  my  vife  too  ; 
and  Got  has  been  my  fader  and  my  friend  eber  since  ;  and 
I  bless  Got  I  vill  soon  get  home  to  see  Him  in  de  himels.'  " 
This  conversation  took  place  in  1813  ;  and  as  he  had  enjoyed 
the  love  of  God  fifty  years,  the  inference  is,  that  he  was 
converted  under  Mr.  Strawbridge,  in  1763. 

When  Mr.  Asbury  first  visited  this  society,  in  the  latter 
end  of  1772,  he  found  there  such  names  as  Hagarty,  Bon- 
ham,  Walker,  and  Warfield.  Mr.  Hezekiah  Bonham  had 
been  a  Baptist,  until  awakened  by  Mr.  Strawbridge's  preach- 
ing, when  he  became  a  Methodist,  and  w^as  much  persecuted 
by  his  former  sect.  At  this  time,  Mr.  Asbury  heard  him 
speak  in  public,  and  seeing  that  he  had  gifts  as  a  speaker,  he 
gave  him  license  to  exhort.  He  afterwards  became  a 
Dreacher :  and.  in  1785,  his  name  is  in  the  Minutes  of  Con- 


18  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [176G-7. 

ference,  among  the  itinerants.  His  son,  Robert  Bonham, 
was  also  a  travelling  preacher.  Paul  Hagarty,  it  seems,  was 
of  the  Pipe  Creek  society ;  also,  his  brother,  John  Hagartj, 
who  became  a  travelling  preacher,  and  could  preach  in  both 
German  and  English.  Robert  Walker  had  been  awakened 
under  Mr.  Whitefield,  at  Fagg's  Manor,  Chester  county.  Pa. 
He  afterwards  moved  to  Frederick  county,  Md.,  and  was 
reawakened  under  Mr.  Strawbridge,  and  joined  the  Pipe 
Creek  society.  He  subsequently  removed  to  Sandy  river,  S. 
C,  where  he  was  pleased  to  entertain  Bishops  Asbury  and 
Whatcoat,  in  1800 ;  he  was  then  in  his  eightieth  year.  Doc- 
tor Alexander  Warfield  was  a  vestibule  Methodist,  i.  e,  a  kind 
and  useful  friend  to  them.  Mr.  Asbury  dined  with  him  on 
his  first  visit  to  Pipe  Creek ;  and  it  seems  certain  that  his 
lady,  Mrs.  Warfield,  was  a  member  of  Mr.  Strawbridge's 
first  society.  The  Rev.  Lott  Warfield,  once  favorably  known 
in  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  was  of  this  family. 

Not  far  from  Pipe  Creek,  lived  William  Durbin,  who,  with 
his  companion,  united  with  the  Methodists  in  1768  or  1769. 
We  must  regard  them  as  the  fruit  of  Mr.  Strawbridge's 
ministry.  Their  house  was  an  early  stand  for  preaching  ; 
and  their  son,  John  Durbin,  was  a  travelling  preacher  in  the 
beginning  of  this  century  ;  he  died  a  most  triumphant  death; 
his  last  words  were,  "  Jesus,  Jesus,  angels,  angels  beckon — 
there's  two — I'll  go."  Thus,  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  he  went 
to  glory.     See  the  Minutes  for  1805. 

In  the  same  region  lived  George  Saxton,  whose  house  was 
a  preaching  place  at  that  early  date.  We  must  suppose  that 
he  was  brought  under  Methodist  influence,  and  his  house 
opened  for  preaching,  through  Mr.  Strawbridge.  These 
were  the  principal  Methodists  in  Frederick  county,  at  that 
early  date. 

Mr.  Strawbridge  extended  his  labors  to  Baltimore  and 
Harford  counties,  where  he  also  had  fruit.  The  Owen 
family  was  brought  to  experience  the  comforts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  through  his  ministry.  Mr.  Asbury  says,  "  Joshua 
Owen  was  a  serious  churchman  seeking  the  truth,  and  found 
it;"  his  house  became  a  home  for  the  early  itinerants,  and 
a  stand  for  preaching.  His  son,  Richard  Owen,  was  a 
spiritual  son  of  Mr.  Strawbridge ;  and  the  first  native  Ame- 
rican who  became  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  among  the 
Methodists.  See  the  "Life  of  the  Rev.  William  Watters," 
p.  108.  He  labored  usefully  as  a  local  preacher  until  near 
the  end  of  his  life,  when  he  died  in  the  itinerancy.  See  the 
"Minutes  of  Conference  for  1786."    In  1781,  he  performed 


1766-8.]  IN   AMERICA.  19 

the  solemn  duty  of  preaching  over  the  corpse  of  his  spiritual 
father,  Mr.  Strawbridge. 

In  the  "Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant,"  on  p.  204-5, 
we  are  informed  that  Mr.  Samuel  Merrjman  had  occasion  to 
visit  Pipe  Creek,  where  he  heard  of  a  marvellous  preacher 
(Strawbridge)  who  could  pray  without  a  book,  and  preach 
without  a  manuscript  sermon,  which  was  regarded  by  many 
in  that  age  and  place  as  an  impossibility.  Mr.  Merryman 
gave  him  a  hearing,  and  was  astonished  at  his  success  in 
praying  without  a  book,  and  preaching  without  a  written 
discourse — to  him  it  was  the  most  interesting  religious  service 
he  had  ever  attended — he  heard  him  again — his  high-church 
notions  gave  way — he  was  awakened,  and  obtained  a  sense 
of  sins  forgiven,  and  ceased  to  wonder  how  a  man  could 
pray  and  preach  without  a  book,  for  he  could  pray  and  dis- 
course about  religion  (i.  e.  preach)  without  the  aid  of  manu- 
script or  printing-press.  His  house  was  opened  for  such 
preaching,  and  a  Methodist  society  was  subsequently  formed, 
and  a  chapel  followed. 

Sater  Stephenson,  of  Baltimore  county,  was  brought  to 
God  through  Mr.  Strawbridge,  and  began  to  preach  soon 
after  Richard  Owen  commenced.  Nathan  Perigo,  who  lived 
some  six  miles  north-east  of  Baltimore,  was  also  a  spiritual 
son  of  Strawbridge,  and  an  early  local  preacher.  Under  his 
zealous  labors  Philip  Gatch  was  awakened,  and  a  Methodist 
society  was  raised  up  at  Mr.  Simmes's  in  his  neighborhood, 
before  the  regular  itinerants  came  along.  See  "  Memoirs 
of  Gatch,"  by  Hon.  John  M'Lean,  LL.D.,  p.  9. 

The  first  society  raised  up  in  Baltimore  county  was  at 
Daniel  Evans's  near  Baltimore.  For  its  accommodation  one 
of  the  first  chapels  in  the  country  was  erected  ;  and  Mr. 
Strawbridge  was  instrumental  in  gathering  the  society,  if 
not  in  the  erection  of  the  chapel.  See  "  Gatch's  Memoirs," 
p.  24. 

Mr.  Richard  Webster,  of  Harford  county,  Maryland,  was 
among  the  first  Methodists  of  the  county.  In  1824,  the 
Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  visiting  his  friends  in  Mary- 
land ;  and  was  with  Mr.  Webster  a  short  time  before  his 
death ;  and  informs  us  on  page  248  of  his  life,  that  Mr. 
Webster  had  been  a  Methodist  fifty-six  years,  which  dates 
back  to  1768,  as  the  year  in  which  he  united  with  them. 
As  no  Methodist  preacher  had  labored  in  Maryland  at  that 
time  but  Mr.  Strawbridge,  we  must  suppose  that  Mr.  Webster 
identified  himself  with  the  Methodists  through  him.  Mr. 
Webster's  house  became  a  home  for  the  nreacliers.  and  the 


20  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1768. 

preaching — a  society  was  also  raised  up  around  him.  Soon 
he  began  to  preach  ;  and  his  name  is  found  in  "  The  Minutes 
for  1774  for  Baltimore."  In  1775,  he  was  stationed  on 
Chester  circuit ;  here  he  became  acquainted  with  a  daughter 
of  Mr.  George  Smith,  of  Goshen,  Chester  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, whom  he  married.  After  this  he  was  useful  as  a  local 
preacher.     He  died  in  1824. 

Mr.  Thomas  Bond,  of  the  same  region,  and  his  first  wife, 
were  also  Mr.  Strawbridge's  spiritual  children.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  E.  Bond,  extensively  known  as  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate  and  Journal  for  several  years,  was  his  son ; 
also,  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  Bond,  the  last  travelling  com- 
panion of  Bishop  Asbury. 

Methodist  preaching  was  introduced  into  Fredericktown, 
now  Frederick  City,  by  Mr.  Strawbridge,  on  an  invitation 
from  Edward  Drumgole,  who,  on  coming  from  Ireland  in 
1770,  and  bearing  a  letter  to  Mr.  Strawbridge,  heard  him 
preach  at  Pipe  Creek,  and  gave  him  an  invitation  to  preach 
the  same  truth  in  Fredericktown,  where  Mr.  Drumgole  then 
resided.  Mr.  Strawbridge  was  the  first  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
followers  that  preached  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland. 
About  1769  or  1770,  he  preached  at  the  house  of  John 
Randle,  in  Werton,  Kent  county,  Maryland.  The  Rev. 
Henry  Beam  testifies  that  he  heard  him  preach  at  his 
father's,  the  Rev.  Martin  Beam,  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. This  must  have  been  about  1779,  when  Brother 
Beam  was  only  five  or  six  years  old. 

Methodism  was  planted  in  Georgetown  on  the  Potomac, 
and  in  other  places  in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  by  Mr. 
Strawbridge  and  his  spiritual  son,  Richard  Owen. 

In  1778  and  in  1775  Mr.  Strawbridge's  name  is  found  in 
the  Minutes,  as  a  laborer  among  the  itinerants ;  after  which 
it  disappears,  probably  on  account  of  his  administering  the 
ordinances,  which  was  contrary  to  Mr.  Wesley's  advice. 
According  to  Mr.  Asbury's  journal,  the  first  Conference,  in 
1773,  allowed  him  to  do  it,  provided  he  would  do  it  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Rankeu,  Mr.  Wesley's  assistant,  which 
he  refused  to  do,  inasmuch  as  he  had  not  derived  his  autho- 
rity from  Mr.  Ranken  or  the  Conference.  From  what  source 
he  derived  his  authority  to  administer  them,  we  have  not 
been  informed.  In  his  course  in  this  matter,  though  opposed 
by  most  of  the  Methodist  preachers,  he  was  sustained  by  his 
spiritual  children.  The  people  were  much  on  his  side;  and 
the  Rev.  Benedict  Swope,  of  the  German  Reformed  Church, 
advocated  his  course,  saying,  "  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  do  well 


1768-70.]  IN   AMERICA.  21 

in  hindering  Methodist  preachers  from  giving  the  ordinances 
to  their  followers."  It  seems  that  Mr.  Strawbridge  felt  that 
he  had  been  the  first  instrument  used  by  the  Head  of  the 
church  in  raising  up  Methodism  in  Maryland ;  and  therefore 
was  unwilling  to  bear  the  reins  of  those,  though  higher  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  authority,  who  had  entered  into  his  labors. 

The  evidence  adduced  by  the  Rev.  George  C.  M.  Roberts, 
in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  and  by  the  Rev. 
William  Hamilton,  in  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review  of 
1856,  make  it  clear,  beyond  a  doubt,  to  all  who  have  duly 
considered  it,  and  are  not  committed  to  another  theory,  that 
Mr.  Strawbridge  raised  up  the  first  society ;  and  also  built 
the  first  chapel.  (See  the  Quarterly  Review  for  1856,  p. 
435).  It  may  be  asked,  "  Why  did  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury, 
in  their  early  account  of  the  rise  of  Methodism  in  this  coun- 
try, as  found  in  the  Discipline,  make  it  appear  that  Method- 
ism began  in  New  York  ?  also  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  in  his  history 
of  Methodism,  and  others  who  have  asserted  the  same."  The 
answer  is,  "  They  so  understood  it,  not  having  made  it  their 
business  to  inquire  particularly  into  the  history  of  Mr. 
Strawbridge's  movements  in  Frederick  county,  Md."  We 
have  seen  that  in  1801  Bishop  Asbury  came  to  a  more 
correct  understanding  of  the  matter,  and  entered  in  his  jour- 
nal the  truth,  which  we  presume  he  had  then  and  there 
obtained :  thus  correcting  all  that  he  had  before  said  on  the 
subject.  Mr.  Lee  never  took  the  pains  to  investigate  the 
matter,  and  remained  persuaded  that  New  York  was  the 
cradle  of  Methodism  in  America.  Others  have  copied  the 
error  without  questioning  it.  We  are  glad  that  the  matter 
has  at  last  been  placed  in  a  clear  light  by  the  correspondents 
from  Baltimore  referred  to  above. 

The  evidence  adduced  warrants  the  assertion  that  the  first 
Methodist  society  raised  up  in  America  (not  taking  into 
the  account  the  one  formed  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley)— the  first  chapel  (mean  as  it  was) — the  first  native 
American  Methodist  preacher  (Richard  Owen) — the  first 
native  Ameiican  Methodist  preacher  who  was  a  regular 
itinerant  (William  Watters),  belong  to  Maryland.  That  Mr. 
Watters  was  the  first  itinerant  has  never  been  in  controversy. 
That  Richard  Owen  was  the  first  native  preacher  has  not 
been  generally  known.  The  priority  of  the  Pipe,  or  Sam's 
Creek  Society,  and  Log  Chapel,  has  been  mooted. 

Mr.  Strawbridge  had  great  influence  at  the  Bush  Forrest 
chapel,  in  Harford  county,  Maryland.  It  is  likely  that  he 
had  been  instrumental  in  raising  up  both  the  society  and  the 


22  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1770-81. 

chapel.  It  was  the  second  house  for  worship  erected  bj  the 
Methodists  in  Maryland,  and  may  have  been  built  as  early 
as  1769  or  1770.  Mr.  Asbury  preached  in  it  in  1772.  In 
1777,  when  all  the  English  preachers  were  retiring  from  the 
work  on  account  of  the  war,  some  of  the  Methodist  congre- 
gations were  devising  means  to  provide  for  themselves  by 
settling  pastors  over  them  ;  and  an  arrangement  was  con- 
templated to  settle  Mr.  Strawbridge  over  the  Pipe  Creek  and 
Bush  Forrest  congregations.  About  the  same  time  Mr. 
Asbury  received  a  call  to  the  Garrettson  church  (of  the 
Church  of  England),  in  Harford  county,  Maryland.  (See 
his  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  194.) 

We  will  close  this  account  of  the  labors  of  Mr.  Straw- 
bridge  in  America,  with  a  few  extracts  from  the  Rev.  William 
Hamilton's  account,  in  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review  for 
1856,  already  referred  to.  He  informs  us  that  Mrs.  Bennett, 
sister  to  David  Evans,  of  the  first  class  at  Pipe  Creek,  still 
living  in  1856,  in  her  eighty-ninth  year,  had  sat  under  his 
ministry  with  great  profit,  and  was  able,  as  an  eye-witness, 
to  describe  him.  "  He  was  of  medium  size,  dark  complexion, 
black  hair,  had  a  very  sweet  voice,  and  was  an  excellent 
singer. 

"  He  had  six  children,  Robert,  George,  Theophilus,  Jesse, 
Betsey,  and  Jane.  George  died,  and  also  two  of  the  other 
children,  who  were  buried  under  the  pulpit  of  the  Log  meet- 
ing-house. Two  of  his  sons,  George  and  Jesse,  grew  up  and 
became  carpenters." 

The  Log  meeting-house  was  twenty-two  feet  square  :  on 
one  side  the  logs  were  sawed  out  for  a  door,  on  the  other 
three  sides  there  were  holes  for  windows ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  it  ever  was  finished,  standing  without  windows, 
door,  and  floor.  About  1844  it  was  demolished,  and  several 
canes  were  manufactured  out  of  some  of  its  logs.  Mr. 
William  Fort  sent  one  to  each  of  the  bishops,  then  in  New 
York,  and  one  to  Dr.  Bond.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Fort 
appeared  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  relating  to 
the  old  chapel,  at  the  same  time. 

"  Mr.  Strawbridge  continued  to  reside  at  Sam's  Creek 
about  sixteen  years,  and  then  removed  to  the  upper  part  of 
Long  Green,  Baltimore  county,  to  a  farm  given  him  for  life, 
by  the  wealthy  Captain  Charles  Ridgely,  by  whom  he  was 
greatly  esteemed,  and  who  often  attended  his  preaching.  It 
was  while  living  here  under  the  shadow  of  '  Hampton'  (Col. 
Ridgely's  seat),  that,  in  one  of  his  visiting  rounds  to  his 
spiritual  children,  he  was  taken  sick  at  the  house  of  Mr. 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  23 

Joseph  Wheeler,  and  died,  in  great  peace.  His  funeral 
sermon  was  preached  to  a  vast  concourse  of  people  by  the 
Rev.  Richard  Owings,  under  a  large  walnut-tree,  from  Rev. 
xiv.  13.  His  grave,  and  also  the  grave  of  Mrs.  Strawbridge 
(who  died  in  Baltimore),  are  in  the  small  burying-ground  in 
the  orchard  south  of  the  house,  about  the  centre  of  the 
ground ;  a  large  poplar-tree  has  grown  up  between  them,  as 
a  living  monument."  Their  resting  place  is  about  six  or 
seven  miles  north  of  Baltimore.  It  appears  from  Mr.  As- 
bury's  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  334,  where  we  suppose  he  is  referred 
to,  under  date  of  September  3,  1781,  that  he  was  then  dead, 
and  it  seems  that  this  event  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1781. 


CHAPTER  IL 

DumxG  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  while  Colonel  Church- 
ill, afterwards  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  had  married 
Sarah  Jennings,  who  had  been  Anne's  playmate,  was  cover- 
ing himself  with  military  glory  on  the  sanguinary  fields  of 
Blenheim,  Ramillies,  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaquet;  and  frown- 
ing Gibraltar  was  bowing  to  the  martial  courage  of  Sir  George 
Rooke  and  Cloudesley  Shovel ;  and  England  and  Scotland 
were  more  closely  united  by  consolidating  their  parliaments 
into  one; — while  Dean  Swift  was  pointing  his  satire;  and 
Steele  was  waging  war  with  immorality  and  infidelity,  Addi- 
son with  his  model  style  was  sending  his  papers  to  the  toilet 
and  tea-table,  to  correct  abuse  and  elevate  taste ;  when  Gay, 
Parnell,  Prior,  and  Pope  were  pouring  out  their  numbers  in 
verse,  and  Handel  was  charming  with  the  power  of  song, 
Providence  was  moving  a  people  from  one  of  the  Palatinates 
on  the  River  Rhine  into  her  kingdom,  who  were  subsequently 
to  bring  with  them  to  America  the  treasures  of  truth  and 
moral  worth. 

She  was  deservedly  called  "Good  Queen  Anne,"  on  ac- 
count of  her  mild  though  firm  temper,  for  relinquishing  a 
hundred  thousand  pounds  of  her  annual  income  for  the  public 
service,  and  giving  a  large  portion  of  the  revenue  derived 
from  the  church  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  clergy,  called 
*'  Queen  Anne's  Bounty," — sacrifices  which  are  seldom  made 
by  those  who  are  high  in  power.  Relics  of  her  benevolent 
regard  for  religion  are  still  found  in  this  country :  St.  Anne's 
Church,  near  Middleton,. Newcastle  county,  Delaware,  was 


24:  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1760. 

founded  in  her  reign,  and  called  after  her ;  she  presented  to 
it  a  covering  for  the  communion-table,  with  her  initials  A.  R. 
(Anne  Regina)  on  it,  wrought  in  silk  embroidery,  most  prob- 
ably, with  her  royal  fingers.  It  still  exists  as  a  highly  valued 
memento. — (Rev.  George  Foot's  Book  on  Drawyer's  Con- 
gregation, p.  53.) 

It  appears  that  she  made  a  much  more  princely  present  to 
Christ's  Church,  in  Second  street,  Philadelphia,  of  a  service 
of  silver  plate,  which  is  still  preserved. — (See  Watson's 
Annals,  vol.  i.  p.  379.) 

The  Rev.  George  C.  M.  Roberts  is  the  author  of  the  follow- 
ing letter : — 

"  In  the  year  1709  seven  thousand  Protestant  Lutherans 
were  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  French,  under  Louis 
XIV.  Their  houses  and  their  property  of  every  description 
were  laid  waste  by  fire  and  the  sword.  Men,  women,  and 
children  fled  by  night  for  their  lives  to  the  camp  of  the  Duke 
of  Marlborough  for  protection  from  their  enemies.  Persecu- 
tion, ending  in  these  distressing  and  afliicting  calamities  in 
a  single  day,  reduced  from  affluence  these  wealthy  farmers 
to  a  level  with  the  most  indigent.  On  the  first  intelligence 
reaching  Queen  Anne,  she  sent  to  their  relief  a  fleet  to  Rot- 
terdam, which  conveyed  them  to  England.  Between  six 
and  seven  thousand  of  these  poor  forlorn  people  arrived  in 
London.  They  were  encamped  on  Black  Heath  and  Cam- 
berwell  Commons,  where  commissioners  who  were  appointed 
by  the  government  administered  for  the  time  being  to  their 
necessities. 

"  Of  these  seven  thousand,  three  thousand  determined  to  try 
their  fortunes  in  the  New  World,  and  consequently  came  over 
to  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  which  at  that  time  were 
British  provinces.  Of  this  number,  six  hundred  and  fifty 
families  settled  in  North  Carolina. 

"About  fifty  families  of  those  who  remained  in  England  were 
encouraged  to  locate  themselves  in  Ireland.  They  fixed  upon 
the  estates  of  Lord  Southwell,  near  Rathkeal,  in  the  county 
of  Limerick.  Each  man,  woman,  and  child  were  allowed 
eight  acres  of  land,  for  which  they  consented  to  pay  five 
shillings  an  acre,  yearly,  for  ever.  The  government  agreed 
to  pay  their  rent  iPor  twenty  years,  in  order  to  encourage  the 
Protestant  interest  in  Ireland,  and  make  them  all  freeholders. 
They  also  supplied  every  man  with  a  good  musket  (called  a 
Queen  Anne  piece),  to  protect  himself  and  his  family.  They 
were  embodied  in  the  free  yeomanry  of  the  country,  and  were 
styled  the  "True  Blues,"  or  "German  Fusileers."  and  were 


1760,]  IN    AMERICA.  25 

commanded  by  one  Capt.  Brown.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  those  who  settled  contiguous  to  each  other  on  the 
estate  of  Lord  Southwell,  namely :  Baker,  Barhman,  Barra- 
bier,  Benner,  Bethel,  Bowen,  Bowman,  Bovinizor,  Brethower, 
Cole,  Coach,  Cornell,  Cronsberry,  Dobe,  Dulmage,  Embury, 
Fizzle,  Grunse,  Guier,  Heck,  Hoffman,  Hifle,  Heavener,  Glo- 
zier,  Lawrence,  Lowes,  Ledwich,  Long,  Miller,  Mich,  Mod- 
len,  Neizer,  Piper,  Rhineheart,  Rose,  Rodcnbucher,  Ruchle, 
Switzer,  Sparling,  Stark,  St.  John,  St.  Ledger,  Straugh, 
Sleeper,  Shoemaker,  Shier,  Smeltzer,  Shoultace,  Shanewise, 
Tesley,  Tettler,  Urshelbaugh,  Williams,  Young. 

"  Of  these  it  will  be  seen  that  the  family  of  Embury  was 
conspicuous.  Philip  Embury,  the  hero  of  our  story,  was  of 
this  family.  He  was  born  in  Ballingarane,  near  Rathkeal, 
county  of  Limerick,  about  the  year  1730.  His  parents 
were  very  respectable,  and  members  of  the  German  Lutheran 
Church.  They  came  over  from  the  Palatinate  with  the  colony 
in  1709.  Pliiiip,  when  a  boy,  was  sent  to  the  German  school, 
then  taught  by  an  old  gentleman  named  Gier,  in  Ballingarane. 
Afterward  he  went  to  the  English  school.  His  education 
was  very  limited,  if  compared  with  what  may  be  obtained  in 
the  present  day.  When  he  arrived  at  a  suitable  age  he  was 
bound  to  a  carpenter,  with  whom  he  served  his  time  with 
credit  to  himself,  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  master. 
He  w^as  always  considered,  and  bore  the  character  of  an 
honest,  industrious,  sober,  and  obliging  man.  After  serving 
out  his  apprenticeship,  he  worked  at  the  same  trade  until 
his  emigration  to  America.  He  was  cousin  germain  to  the 
Switzer,  Gier,  and  Ruchle  families.  He  was  converted  to 
God  on  Monday,  Dec.  25,  1752,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  John  Wesley,  and  joined  the  Methodist  society  in  his 
neighborhood  the  same  year.  He  soon  began  to  exercise  his 
gifts  as  a  local  preacher  and  class-leader  in  his  own  vicinity, 
and  continued  to  do  so  for  the  space  of  five  or  six  years. 

*'  I  have  already  mentioned  that  when  the  Palatines  left 
Germany  in  1709,  three  thousand  of  them  were  influenced 
to  emigrate  to  America,  and  settle  in  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania. This  circumstance  was  the  means  of  separating 
friends  of  the  nearest  relationship  to  each  other.  They  kept 
up  a  correspondence  with  those  who  were  left  in  England, 
whenever,  which  was  but  seldom,  an  opportunity  offered. 
These  letters,  written  to  those  who  were  in  Ireland  and  Ger- 
many, gave  them  an  account  of  America,  their  favorable 
condition,  and  the  prospects  that  were  before  them.  They 
were  encouraging  in  the  extreme,  and  influenced  several  of 
3 


26  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1760. 

them  to  emigrate  also.  Heavy  taxation,  oppressive  landlords, 
and  the  small  inducement  offered  to  men  of  genius  or  in- 
dustry, rendered  Ireland,  though  perhaps  on  the  whole  one 
of  the  finest  countries  in  the  universe,  no  eligible  place  for 
men  of  talents  of  any  kind,  however  directed,  to  hope  for  an 
adequate  supply,  or  decent  independence  for  a  rising  family. 
America  was  then  comparatively  thin  in  her  population  and 
large  in  territory.  She  held  out  promises  of  easily-acquired 
property  and  immediate  gains.  Her  commerce  and  agricul- 
ture, and  trades  of  different  kinds,  all  combined  to  induce  the 
ill  provided  for  and  the  dissatisfied  in  the  mother  country  to 
come  with  their  persons  and  property  thither. 

"Mr.  Embury  and  his  friends  were  persuaded,  among  many 
others,  to  indulge  their  hopes,  with  the  expectation  and  the 
promise  held  out  to  them  of  mending  their  fortunes,  and  living 
more  happily  in  this,  to  them,  untried  and  new  world.  The 
old  Palatines  could  not  come  over  conveniently  on  account 
of  their  large  families  and  other  encumbrances,  so  the  first 
emigration  of  Palatines  fell  to  the  lot  of  Philip  Embury.  As 
was  stated  in  a  former  communication,  this  he  made  up  his 
mind  to  do  in  the  spring  of  1760.  After  disposing  of  all  his 
effects,  and  turning  them  into  money,  he  started,  and  landed 
in  New  York  on  the  10th  day  of  August,  1760. 

"  From  the  time  he  landed  in  New  York  until  1766  we  hear 
but  little  of  him.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  the  whole 
of  this  time  was  spent  in  inglorious  ease.  When  we  consider 
that  he  was  an  Irishman,  that  up  to  the  time  of  his  leaving 
Ireland  he  exercised  the  functions  of  his  ministry,  availing 
himself  of  the  very  lant  opportunity  from  the  side  of  the  ship 
of  preaching  to  the  people ;  that  he  was  the  descendant  of 
the  Palatines,  who  doubtless  often  repeated  the  story  of  their 
sufferings  and  their  wrongs,  for  Christ  and  the  Gospel's  sake, 
in  his  hearing ;  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Philip  Embury 
was  easily  discouraged,  and  remained  in  America  for  six 
years  without  once  preaching  Christ  to  the  people.  Such  an 
opinion  is  preposterous  in  the  highest  degree,  and  leaves  a 
stain  upon  his  name.  No  ;  we  had  rather  say  that  he  preached 
immediately  after  his  arrival,  and  continued  to  preach  often 
until  he  became  discouraged,  when,  as  he  supposed,  there  was 
no  hope  of  getting  an  audience  to  hear  him.  Under  these 
circumstances  it  is  probable  that  he  desisted  from  the  work 
regularly,  but  continued  occasionally  to  preach,  until  the 
famous  appeal  was  made  to  him  in  the  year  1706,  which,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  awakened  within  him  all  his  slumber- 
ing energies,  and  led  him  to  commence  in  New  York  a  work 


1760-6.]  IN   AMERICA.  27 

which  shall  know  no  end  until  the  final  consummation  of  all 
things. 

George  C.  M.  Roberts. 
"135  Hanover  St.,  Baltimore.'" 

The  following  account  of  Mr.  Philip  Embury  was  written 
by  the  Rev.  George  C.  M.  Roberts,  of  Baltimore  : — 

"  November  27,  1758,  Philip  Embury  was  married  to 
Miss  Margaret  Switzer,  of  Court  Matrass,  in  Rathkeale 
Church.  The  same  year  he  assisted  the  feeble  society  in 
that  village  in  the  erection  of  a  church  for  their  better 
accommodation.  In  1758,  1759,  and  1760,  many  of  his 
neighbors  and  friends  became  deeply  interested  on  the  ques- 
tion of  bettering  their  condition  by  emigrating  to  America. 
Being  influenced  by  letters  from  many  of  the  Palatines,  his 
friends  who  had  previously  settled  in  America,  he,  with  some 
of  his  neighbors  and  relatives,  determined  upon  removal.  In 
1760  he  came  over  with  his  wife.  He  was  accompanied  by 
two  or  three  of  his  brothers  and  their  families  ;  also  Paul 
Heck  and  family,  Valer.  Tetlar.  Peter  Switzer  (probably  a 
near  relative  of  his  wife),  Philip  Morgan  and  family,  and  a 
family  by  the  name  of  Dulmcges.  They  were  all  responsible 
freeholders  in  Ireland,  and  sold  their  farms  and  effects  to 
raise  the  funds  to  defray  their  expenses.  They  shipped  at 
Limerick,  to  which  many  of  their  friends  and  neighbors 
accompanied  them  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing  their  de- 
parture. Mr.  Embury  preached  his  last  sermon  in  Ireland 
from  the  side  of  the  ship,  at  the  custom-house  quay.  A  large 
concourse  of  people  were  standing  and  sitting  around  to  hear 
his  parting  counsel.  Afterward  they  wished  him  and  his 
company  a  prosperous  voyage,  and  with  tears  and  uplifted 
hands  bade  them  a  final  adieu. 

"  I  have  these  facts  from  the  notes  of  a  gentleman  whose 
father  was  present  on  the  occasion. 

"  The  families  who  accompanied  Mr.  E.  were  not,  all  of 
them,  Wesleyans,  only  a  few  of  them ;  the  remainder  were 
members  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  Ireland ;  but,  as  far  as 
I  can  ascertain,  made  no  profession  of  an  experimental 
knowledge  of  God,  in  the  pardon  of  sin  and  adoption.  After 
their  arrival  in  New  York,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Embury 
and  three  or  four  others,  they  all  finally  lost  their  sense  of 
the  fear  of  God,  and  the  interest  they  had  previously  felt, 
and  became  open  worldlings.  Some  subsequently  fell  into 
greater  depths  of  sin  than  others.  Late  in  the  year  1765 
another  vessel  arrived  in  New  York,  bringing  over  Mr.  Paul 


28  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1760-6. 

Ruckle  and  family,  Luke  Rose,  Jacob  Heck,  Peter  Barkman, 
and  Henry  Williams,  ^vith  their  families.  These  were  Pala- 
tines, some  of  them  relatives  of  Mr.  Embury,  and  the  balance 
his  former  friends  and  neighbors.  A  few  of  them  only  were 
Wesleyans.  Mrs.  Barbara  Heck,  who  had  been  residing  in 
New  York  since  1760,  visited  them  frequently.  One  of  the 
company,  Mr.  Paul  Ruckle,  was  her  eldest  brother.  It  was 
when  visiting  them  on  one  of  those  occasions  that  she  found 
some  of  the  party  engaged  in  a  game  of  cards.  There  is  no 
proof,  either  direct  or  indirect,  that  any  of  them  were  Wes- 
leyans, and  connected  with  Mr.  Embury.  Her  spirit  was 
roused,  and  doubtless  emboldened  by  her  long  and  intimate 
acquaintance  with  them  in  Ireland,  she  seized  the  cards, 
threw  them  into  the  fire,  and  then  most  solemnly  warned 
them  of  their  danger  and  duty.  Leaving  them,  she  went 
immediately  to  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Embury,  who  was  her 
cousin ;  it  was  located  upon  Barrack  street,  so  called  from 
the  circumstance  of  the  sixty-fourth  regiment  of  foot,  of  the 
English  army,  being  quartered  therein.  After  narrating 
what  she  had  seen  and  done,  under  the  influence  of  the 
Divine  Spirit,  and  with  power,  she  appealed  to  him  to  be  no 
longer  silent,  but  to  preach  the  word  forthwith.  After  par- 
rying his  excuses,  she  urged  him  to  commence  at  once,  in 
his  own  house  and  to  his  own  people.  lie  consented,  and 
she  went  out  and  collected  four  persons  who,  with  herself, 
constituted  his  audience.  After  singing  and  prayer  he 
preached  to  them,  and  enrolled  them  in  a  class.  He  con- 
tinued thereafter  to  meet  them  weekly.  Mr.  E.  was  not 
among  the  card-players,  nor  in  the  same  house  with  them. 
The  period  at  which  Mr.  E.  thus  commenced  his  labor  is 
positively  fixed  in  a  manuscript  copy  of  a  letter  in  my  pos- 
session. This  letter  may  be  seen  entire  in  the  Magazine  for 
1823,  page  427.  This  was  written  to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  is 
signed  T.  T.  (Thomas  Taylor),  and  bears  date  'New  York, 
April  11,  1768.'  After  giving  an  account  of  the  religious 
condition  of  the  people,  it  says:  'Eighteen  months  ago  it 
pleased  God  to  rouse  up  Mr.  Embury  to  employ  his  talent 
(which  for  several  years  had  been,  as  it  were,  hid  in  a  nap- 
kin,') &c.  This  clearly  shows  that  the  renewal  of  Mr.  E. 
took  place  in  the  fall  of  1766,  and  at  the  same  time  fully 
substantiates  what  I  have  said  in  reference  to  the  time  of  his 
arrival  in  New  York.  This  letter  also  settles  the  time  of 
Captain  Webb's  first  visit,  by  saying  it  took  place  'three 
months'  thereafter.     This  makes  it  February,  1767.     The 


1760-G.]  IxN    AMERICA.  29 

author  of  it  himself  arrived  in  New  York,  from  Plymouth, 
on  the  26th  of  October,  1767,  after  a  passage  of  six  weeks. 
On  his  arrival  he  found  that  Mr.  Embury  had  formed  two 
classes,  one  of  males,  containing  six  or  seven  members,  the 
other  of  females,  containing  the  same  number.  He  had, 
however,  never  met  the  society  apart  from  the  congregation. 

"  From  the  foregoing,  as  well  as  what  has  been  stated  by 
our  historians,  it  is  not  fair  to  surmise  that  Mr.  E.  had  not 
preached  after  his  arrival  in  America  until  this  memorable 
effort ;  that  for  the  entire  six  years  he  had  made  no  public 
eifort.  Although  I  have  no  reliable  data  upon  which  to  base 
a  contrary  opinion,  I  am  nevertheless  inclined  to  believe  that 
he  had,  and  perhaps  more  than  once,  made  efforts  in  public, 
but,  being  discouraged,  had  ceased  to  do  so  for  some  time. 
Alas  !  how  many  ministers  of  the  present  day  become  weary 
of  appointments,  and  abandon  them  because  but  five  or  six  are 
in  regular  attendance  !  These  documents,  however,  conclu- 
sively establish  the  fact,  that  no  serious  or  systematic  effort 
was  made  by  him  prior  to  November,  1766." 

The  following  account  of  the  Palatines  in  Ireland  is  taken 
from  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal  of  these  Palatines : — 

"Fifty  families  formed  a  colony  at  Ballygarane,  twenty  at 
Court  Mattress,  twenty  at  Killiheen,  twenty  at  Pallas,  and 
there  was  another  colony  at  New  Market,  on  the  Shannon. 
Each  family  had  a  few  acres  of  ground,  on  which  a  little 
house  was  erected.  And  such  was  their  diligence,  says  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  they  turned  all  their  land  into  a  garden — in 
industry  and  frugality  they  were  patterns  to  all  around  them. 
They  retained  the  temper  and  manners  of  their  fatherland, 
being  a  serious,  thinking  people,  having  but  little  resemblance 
to  tiie  people  among  whom  they  lived  in  either  appearance  or 
disposition.  Bat,  as  they  had  long  been  without  a  minister 
by  whom  they  could  profit,  they  were  much  given  to  cursing, 
swearing,  and  drunkenness,  until  the  Methodist  preachers 
came  among  them  about  the  year  1750,  when  the  reformation 
became  so  general  that  there  were  no  such  towns  to  be  found 
in  the  kingdom  ;  no  cursing,  swearing.  Sabbath  breaking,  no 
alehouse  or  drunkenness  in  any  of  them ;  they  were  both 
reproof  and  example  to  their  neighbors.  Many  of  them 
united  with  the  Methodists,  and  such  as  did  not,  imitated  them, 
by  forming  themselves  into  classes,  and  professed  to  walk  in 
the  light  of  God's  countenance.  When  Mr.  Wesley  first  met 
them  in  society,  he  was  repeatedly  stopped  short.  The  words 
of  this  plain,  honest  people,  he  remarks,  came  with  such 
weight  and  power  as  to  produce  a  pause,  and  raise  a  general 
3  * 


30  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1760-6. 

cry  among  the  hearers :  the  words  of  a  child  nine  years  old 
astonished  all  that  heard  them." 

Here  lived,  and  here  died,  in  a  good  old  age,  Philip  Geier, 
Avho  was  a  patriarch  to  these  German  societies.  Here  was 
Philip  Embury ;  here  Avas  the  Heck  family,  the  Deans,  with 
many  others.  Here  was  the  material  that  formed  the  nucleus 
of  Methodism  in  New  York. 

Notwithstanding  the  diligence  and  frugality  of  this  people, 
such  was  the  heartlessness  of  their  landlords  that  many  of 
them  could  not  procure  the  coarsest  food  to  eat,  nor  the 
meanest  raiment  to  wear — hence  they  had  to  seek  bread  in 
other  places,  scattered  up  and  down  the  kingdom,  but  the 
greater  part  came  to  America. 


CHAPTER  III. 


From  the  foregoing  chapter  we  learn  that  Mr.  Philip 
Embury  was  born  about  1730,  found  peace  with  God  De- 
cember 25,  1752,  and  came  to  New  York,  August  10,  1760. 
Mrs.  Barbara  Heck's  stirring  appeal  was  made  to  him  about 
October,  1766,  when  he  preached  in  his  own  humble  dwelling 
in  Barrack  street,  now  Park  Place ;  only  six  attended  this 
meeting:  Mrs.  Heck,  four  others,  and  Mr.  Embury,  the 
preacher. 

The}^  were  formed  into  a  class,  and  met  in  his  house.  He 
continued  to  preach  and  meet  the  class,  adding  to  it  the 
names  of  such  as  wished  to  belong  to  it.  Mrs.  Morrell,  wife 
of  Jonathan  Morrell,  and  mother  of  the  late  Rev.  Thomas 
Morrell,  of  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  had  obtained  reli- 
gion about  1760,  and  now  joined  in  with  the  Methodists. 

After  Mr.  Embury  had  fed  and  guided  the  little  flock 
about  four  months,  he  was  refreshed  by  the  coming  of  Cap- 
tain Webb,  from  Albany  to  New  Y'ork.  Among  the  first 
Methodists  of  New  York  there  were  three  who  had  been 
comrades  in  the  British  army,  namely,  Thomas  Webb, 
William  Lupton,  and  John  Chave.  Mr.  Embury's  dwelling 
soon  became  too  small  to  contain  the  people  who  came  to 
hear  the  preaching ;  and  a  larger  room  was  hired  near  the 
Barrack,  in  the  same  region ;  this  did  not  long  hold  them, 
and  the  "  Rigging  Loft,"  at  No.  120  W^illiam  street,  was 
hired  :  its  dimensions  were  eighteen  by  sixty  feet.     Captain 


17G6-8.]  IN  AMERICA.  31 

Webb's  popularity,  as  a  preacher,  soon  filled  it  to  overflow- 
ing, and  a  still  larger  place  was  contemplated  ;  and  in  the 
space  of  two  years  after  the  class  was  formed  Wesley  Chapel 
was  opened  for  worship. 

Early  in  1767,  Charles  White  and  Richard  Sause,  with 
their  families,  came  from  Dublin  to  New  York ;  these  had 
been  Methodists  in  Ireland.  In  October  of  the  same  year 
Thomas  Taylor,  who  wrote  the  famous  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley, 
signed  "  T.  T.,"  arrived  from  Plymouth,  England.  When 
the  ground  on  which  Wesley  Chapel  was  erected,  was  secured 
by  deed  in  1768,  it  was  conveyed  to  Philip  Embury,  William 
Lupton,  Charles  White,  Richard  Sause,  Henry  Newton,  Paul 
Heck,  Thomas  Taylor,  and  Thomas  Webb.  We  must  regard 
these  as  chief  men  among  the  Methodists  of  New  York,  at 
this  time ;  James  Jarvis  also  belonged.  At  the  time  of 
Thomas  Taylor's  arrival,  in  October,  1767,  there  were  two 
small  classes — one  consisted  of  about  seven  men,  the  other 
of  as  many  women.  It  was  not  long  before  Samuel  Selby, 
Stephen  Sands,  John  Chave,  and  John  Staples,  were  enrolled 
among  them.  Thomas  Brinckley,  a  native  of  Philadelphia, 
who  married  Mary,  a  sister  of  John  Staples,  and  who  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  assisted  in  guarding 
Major  Andrd,  and  conducting  him  to  the  place  of  execution, 
was  an  early  Methodist  in  New  York.  See  *'  Lost  Chap- 
ters," by  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley,  pp.  92,  93. 

The  Dean  family  came  to  New  York  with  the  Heck  family. 
Elkana  Dean,  and  his  daughter  Hannah  Dean,  were  among 
the  first  Methodists  in  New  York. 

When  Wesley  Chapel  was  being  erected,  in  1768,  Mr. 
Embury,  being  a  carpenter,  wrought  much  upon  it ;  he  made 
the  pulpit,  and  afterwards  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon, 
from  Hosea  x.  12,  on  the  30th  of  October,  1768.  He  was 
both  trustee  and  treasurer  of  the  enterprise  at  this  time. 
The  chapel  was  forty-two  feet  wide,  and  sixty  feet  long. 

Mr.  Embury  continued  to  live  in  New  York  in  1769,  and 
during  a  part  of  the  year  1770.  While  he  remained  he  was 
preaching  and  laboring  for  the  Methodists,  who  were  inex- 
pressibly dear  to  him.  When  he  was  about  to  leave  them, 
as  a  token  of  love  to  him,  the  Methodist  Society  contributed 
twenty-five  shillings,  to  pay  for  a  copy  of  Cruden's  Concord- 
ance, which  he  carried  with  him  to  his  new  home  ;  this  book, 
with  Embury's  autograph  in  it,  was  in  the  possession  of  a  son 
of  his,  in  1845,  who  was  then  "  seventy-eight  years  old — 
little  of  stature — his  head  thickly  set  with  hair  white  as 
wool."     He  had  been  a  Methodist  for  fifty  years.     He  was 


32  RISE  OF   METHODISM  [1766-8. 

then  livin!:^  in  East  Canada,  near  the  line  wliich  divides  it 
from  Vermont.  Here  he  was  found  by  the  Rev.  Isaac  Stone, 
from  whose  letter,  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal, 
this  extract  is  taken.  It  is  highly  probable  that  this  book  is 
still  carefully  preserved  in  some  branch  of  his  descendants. 

In  1770,  Mr.  Embury,  after  a  sojourn  of  ten  years  in  New 
York,  bade  a  final  adieu  to  it,  and  settled  in  the  town  of 
Camden,  Washington  county,  N.  Y.  He  was  accompanied 
to  his  new  home  by  Peter  Switzer,  most  likely  his  brother- 
in-law,  Mr.  Ashton,  who  paid  the  Rev.  Robert  Williams's 
expenses  to  America,  in  1769,  and  others  of  the  New  York 
Methodists. 

In  this  place  he  continued  to  preach,  and  raised  a  small 
society,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  his  own  countrymen. 
Here  he  was  held  in  such  esteem  by  the  people  that  he  filled 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  did  not,  however,  live 
long;  he  died  suddenly  in  1775,  from  an  injury  received 
while  mowing  in  his  meado^v  ;  at  the  time  of  his  death  he 
was  about  forty-five  years  old.  His  surviving  friends  were 
well  satisfied  that  his  end  was  that  of  a  righteous  man.  His 
remains  were  interred  on  the  plantation  of  his  friend  Peter 
Switzer,  about  seven  miles  from  Ashgrove,  where  they  rested 
until  1832,  when  they  were  removed  to  the  Methodist  bury- 
ing-ground,  in  Ashgrove,  and  a  marble  tablet  placed  to  per- 
petuate his  memory. 

Mr.  Embury  was  a  preacher  that  gave  evidence  of  feeling 
what  he  said  to  others ;  he  often  wept  while  he  preached  ; 
and  if  he  did  not  possess  a  scintillating  genius,  he  had  what 
was  of  far  greater  value,  the  adornment  of  the  modesty  and 
meekness  of  Christian  piety,  and  was  owned  of  his  Saviour 
in  life  and  in  death,  lie  was  the  instrument  chosen  by  the 
Head  of  the  Church  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  Methodism  in 
what  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  the  empire  city  of  the 
nation ;  and,  although  such  abilities  as  he  possessed  as  a 
preacher  WQuld  not  attract  a  congregation  at  this  day  in 
New  York,  yet  he  will  be  held  in  grateful  and  lasting  remem- 
brance on  account  of  the  work  he  once  performed  there. 
And  while  Mr.  Strawbridge  must  be  regarded  as  the  apostle 
of  Methodism  in  Maryland,  the  same  must  be  accorded  to 
Mr.  Embury  in  relation  to  New  York. 

His  widow  married  a  Methodist  by  the  name  of  Lawrence, 
and  settled  in  Upper  Canada.  A  grandson  of  Mr.  Embury, 
whose  name  was  Fisher,  was  in  New  York,  in  1853,  at  the 
anniversary  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  in  Bedford 
Street.     It  was  a  great  matter  for  the  people  of  New  York 


1766-8.]  IN    AMERICA.  33 

to  see  a  descendant  of  his  among  them.     See  "Lost  Chap- 
ters," by  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley,  p.  134. 

Philip  Embury  had  several  brothers ;  two  of  them  died 
before  he  left  New  York.  John  Embury  died  in  1764,  and 
Peter  Embury  in  1765.  David  Embury,  his  brother,  was  a 
subscriber  to  help  to  build  Wesley  Chapel  in  1768.  A  num- 
ber of  his  relatives  are  still  to  be  found  in  New  York  and 
Brooklyn.  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Embury,  the  authoress,  is  the 
wife  of  a  descendant  of  his  ;  also,  Daniel  Embury,  President 
of  the  Atlantic  Bank  in  Brooklyn.  "  Lost  Chapters  of 
Methodism,"  p.  134. 

The  little  society  which  Messrs.  Embury  and  Ashton  raised 
up  about  the  year  1770,  at  Ashgrove,  on  account  of  its 
isolated  condition  was  but  little  known.  The  early  itine- 
rants did  not  visit  that  region  of  country.  It  languished 
for  fifteen  years  or  more,  and  a  part  of  that  time  it  could 
scarcely  be  said  that  there  was  a  Methodist  society  in  the 
place ;  yet  there  were  those  that  had  been,  and  desired  again 
to  be,  Methodists.  In  the  year  1786,  Mr.  John  Baker,  a 
Methodist  from  Ireland,  settled  at  Ashgrove,  w^ho  made 
several  eiforts  to  bring  the  travelling  preachers  to  the  place  ; 
but  on  account  of  the  paucity  of  their  number,  he  did  not 
succeed  until  1788,  when  Lemuel  Smith  was  sent  to  take 
charge  of  the  society ;  his  labors  were  made  a  blessing  not 
only  to  the  Ashgrove  society,  but  to  many  others,  that  sprung 
up  around  this  central  society  in  the  northern  part  of  New 
York.  Between  1790  and  1793,  a  Methodist  meeting-house 
Avas  erected  at  Ashgrove,  which  was  the  fifth  or  sixth  place 
of  worship  built  by  the  Methodists  in  the  state. 

The  leading  event  of  1767,  in  reference  to  the  interests 
of  the  infant  cause  of  Methodism  in  America,  was  the 
identification  of  Mr.  Thomas  Webb  with  it.  He  was  with 
General  Wolfe  at  the  taking  of  Quebec  in  1758,  where  he 
lost  his  right  eye,  over  which  he  afterwards  wore  a  green 
shade.  We  have  conversed  with  some  individuals  who  heard 
hira  preach,  and  very  distinctly  remembered  his  appearance, 
particularly  this  green  shade.  About  the  year  1765  he 
obtained  the  comforts  of  experimental  religion,  and  soon 
after  bore  a  public  testimony  for  his  Saviour,  at  Bath,  in 
England,  which  was  the  initiative  of  his  public  ministry. 
Soon  after  he  was  stationed  at  Albany  in  New  York  as 
barrack-master.  About  the  month  of  February,  1767,  Mr. 
Webb  became  acquainted  with  the  Methodists  in  New  York 
city.  This  was  while  they  were  worshipping  in  the  room 
near  the  barracks.     His    appearance    among  them   in   his 


34  RISE  OP  METHODISM  [1766-8. 

military  costume  embarrassed  them  until  he  gave  evidence 
of  his  devotion  by  conforming  to  their  mode  of  worship. 
He  soon  began  to  officiate  among  them  as  a  public  speaker ; 
and  many  came  out  to  hear  him  preach  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
clad  as  he  was  in  the  livery  of  war. 

As  his  wife's  relations  lived  on  Long  Island,  he  took  a 
house  in  the  neighborhood  of  Jamaica,  and  spent  this  year 
preaching  in  New  York,  and  on  the  Island,  wherever  a  door 
was  opened.  By  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  about  twenty- 
four  justified,  chiefly  in  and  about  Newtown.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  formed  a  society  on  the  island,  but  it  seems 
they  were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  New  York  society. 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Webb  was  awakened  to  see  and  feel  his 
need  of  a  Saviour  in  1764  under  the  preaching  of  the  Rev. 
John  Wesley  in  England.  After  a  sore  conflict  which  lasted 
a  year  or  more,  he  obtained  an  assurance  of  sins  forgiven. 
Soon  after,  being  in  Bath,  England,  the  minister  who  was  to 
preach  did  not  attend — this  might  have  been  providential — 
Mr.  Webb  was  requested  to  speak  to  the  people — he  related 
his  experience  with  great  power,  and  it  was  made  a  blessing 
to  many  :  henceforth  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  bear  his  testi- 
mony to  the  truth. 

When  he  came  to  Albany,  N.  Y.,  about  1766,  he  had 
family  worship  in  his  house  regularly ;  in  this  exercise  some 
of  his  neighbors  united  with  him  occasionally.  On  these 
occasions  he  sometimes  gave  a  word  of  exhortation ;  no 
great  impression,  however,  was  made  by  these  earliest  efforts 
in  behalf  of  Methodism,  on  the  descendants  of  the  Dutch 
of  Albany.  It  was  not  until  1788  or  1789,  that  the 
Methodists  established  a  society  in  this  oldest  town  of  New 
York. 

Mr.  Webb  was  the  leading  man  in  building  Wesley 
Chapel.  It  might  have  been  some  years  before  such  a  place 
for  worship  had  been  erected  in  New  York  but  for  him. 
He  was  the  most  responsible  man  connected  with  the  enter- 
prise— he  led  the  way  in  obtaining  a  site  on  "  Golden  Hill" 
— he  headed  the  subscription  with  thirty  pounds — the  largest 
sum  put  down  by  any  one ;  and,  besides  being  the  most 
responsible  one  in  contracting  for  materials  and  labor,  he 
collected  thirty-two  pounds  in  Philadelphia,  while  making 
his  earliest  visits  to  this  city  to  establish  Methodism,  and 
paid  it  over  for  the  use  of  the  chapel. 

Wesley  Chapel  cost  from  six  to  eight  hundred  pounds. 
Mr.  Embury,  the  carpenter,  received,  for  work  done  on  it,  a 
considerable  amount.    David  Morris,  another  carpenter,  was 


i7G6-9.]  IN   AMERICA.  35 

paid  more  than  one  hundred  pounds.  John  Gasner  received, 
for  painting  and  ghizing,  from  ten  to  eleven  pounds.  Samuel 
Edmonds,  the  grandfather  of  Judge  Edmonds,  the  notorious 
spiritualist  of  this  time,  was  the  stone  mason  who  put  up 
and  plastered  the  walls.  He  received  for  furnishing  mate- 
rial, work  done,  &c.,  more  than  five  hundred  pounds. 
Thomas  Bell,  a  Methodist  from  England,  worked  a  week 
upon  the  chapel. 

It  is  proper  to  notice  some  of  the  first  Methodists  in  New 
York  a  little  more  in  detail.  The  Heck  family  was  from 
Balligarane,  the  same  place  that  Mr.  Embury  came  from. 
They  were  well  acquainted  in  Ireland,  and  came  to  this 
country  together,  in  1760.  Paul  Heck  had  married  Bar- 
bara Ruckle  before  they  came  to  America.  Some  of  the 
Ruckles,  her  relatives,  are  living  near  Baltimore  at  this 
time.  Mrs.  Heck  was  a  Christian  of  the  highest  order  ;  she 
lived  much  in  prayer  and  had  strong  faith,  and,  therefore, 
God  used  her  for  great  good  in  New  York  :  she  roused  Em- 
bury, and  set  him  to  work  as  preacher  and  pastor — having 
received  an  answer  to  prayer,  she  encouraged  Embury, 
Webb,  and  others,  to  proceed  in  the  erection  of  Wesley 
Chapel.  Some  of  her  descendants  are  st*ill  living ;  and 
much  of  her  spirit  and  practice  have  been  found  with  her 
children. 

Paul  Heck,  son  of  Paul  and  Barbara  Heck,  was  born  at 
B:illigarane,  in  Ireland,  in  1752.  He  came  to  New  York 
with  his  parents,  in  1760,  when  he  was  eight  years  old.  He 
joined  the  Methodist  society  in  New  York,  in  1770,  when 
he  was  eighteen.  In  1774,  he  was  married  to  Hannah 
Dean.  For  many  years  he  was  trustee  and  leader  of  a 
class  at  Wesley  Chapel.  Having  been  an  exemplary  Metho- 
dist fifty-five  years,  he  departed  this  life,  with  countenance 
mantled  with  smiles,  and  the  shout  of  "  Glory  to  God  !" 
for  the  purifying  blood  of  Christ,  which  gave  him  the  vic- 
tory, in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  life. 

His  companion,  Hannah,  was  a  Methodist  two  or  three 
years  before  he  joined  them  ;  she  was  for  many  years  a 
faithful  leader  of  a  little  band  among  the  Methodists.  After 
surviving  him  a  few  years,  she  followed  him,  in  joyful  hope, 
to  her  everlasting  rest.  She  lived  longer  on  earth,  and  was 
in  communion  with  the  Methodists,  more  years  than  her 
husband. 

James  Jarvis — one  of  the  first  members,  trustees,  and 
leaders — was  the  third  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
His  secular  business  was  to  make  hats — he  made  the  first 


36  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1766-9. 

beaver  that  Robert  Williams,  the  first,  of  Wesley's  followers 
in  this  country,  who  regularly  itinerated,  wore  in  America. 
He  made  hats  for  others  of  the  preachers.  At  the  age  of 
forty- two,  he  exchanged  the  sorrows  of  earth  for  the  joys 
of  heaven,  November  4,  1774.  Mr.  Asbury  was  with  him  in 
his  last  hours,  and  attended  his  funeral ;  he  appointed 
Kichard  Sause  to  lead  the  class  he  had  left  behind.  Mr. 
Jarvis  was  the  first  of  the  trustees  that  died.  ("  Lost  Chap- 
ters," pp.  79-80.) 

Charles  White,  who  came  from  Dublin,  in  1766,  was  one 
of  the  original  trustees,  and  was  treasurer  of  the  board  in 
the  time  of  the  war  of  1776.  As  he  had,  with  several 
others  of  the  New  York  Methodists,  supported  the  claims 
of  King  George  over  the  colonists  of  this  country,  when 
peace  was  made  between  England  and  America,  in  1783,  he, 
in  company  with  John  Mann,  went  to  Nova  Scotia ;  and,  if 
he  had  any  real  estate,  it  was  confiscated. 

It  appears  that  he  did  not  continue  long  in  Nova  Scotia, 
but  went  to  the  new  territory  of  Kentucky,  where  Bishop 
Asbury  found  him,  as  the  following  extract  shows  : — "  Mr. 
White  was  living  in  Kentucky,  in  1790,  in  or  near  Lexing- 
ton, where  Mr.  Asbury  found  him,  and  remarks :  '  Poor 
Charles  White.  Ah !  how  many  times  have  I  eaten  at  this 
man's  table  in  New  York,  and  now  he  is  without  property 
and  without  grace.  When  I  parted  with  him,  I  asked  him 
if  he  loved  God ;  he  burst  into  tears,  and  could  scarcely  say 
'  he  desired  to  love  Him.'  " 

He  is  noticed  again,  in  1793 :  "  I  rode  to  Lexington,  I 
stopped  at  C.  White's  once  more.  Oh,  that  God  may  help 
him  safe  to  glory!"  (Asburv's  Journal,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  74, 
164.) 

William  Lupton  was  born  at  Croftstone,  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, March  11,  1728.  In  1753,  he  came  to  America,  as 
quartermaster,  under  George  II.  He  was  nearly  six  feet 
high — heavy  built — large  head,  which  was  bald  in  the  even- 
ing of  his  life.  He  was  in  the  war  with  Captain  Webb,  who 
was  his  commanding  officer.  Then  and  there  they  became 
intimate  friends ;  and  afterward  stood  side  by  side  in  pro- 
moting Methodism  in  New  York.  Mr.  Lupton  married  Jo- 
hannah  Schuyler — a  relation  of  General  Schuyler ;  she  died 
in  1769.  In  1770,  Mr.  Lupton  married  Mrs.  Rosevelt.  He 
was  a  little  singular  in  his  manner  of  dressing :  he  wore  a 
red  velvet  cap,  and  rufiies  around  his  wrists — oflicer-like. 
In  1796,  he  died  ;  and  his  widow  in  1801.  Mr.  Lupton  was 
interred  in  his  vault,  under  Wesley  Chapel.     In  1817,  this 


1766-9.]  IN    AMERICA.  37 

church  edifice  was  taken  down,  and  a  new  one  built ;  at  this 
time  Mr.  Lupton,  with  other  dead,  was  removed.  Two  men 
were  employed  in  this  work.  When  they  ent-ered  Lupton's 
vault  and  took  hold  of  his  coffin,  which  was  one  of  the 
largest  ever  seen  in  New  York,  they  let  go  their  hold,  and 
ran  out,  much  alarmed.  Dr.  William  Phoebus,  who  was 
superintending  this  removal  of  the  dead,  inquired,  "  What  is 
the  matter?"  They  replied,  "We  heard  a  man  groan!" 
The  doctor  said,  "  Tut,  tut ;  go  back  and  remove  the  coffin." 
Dr.  Phoebus,  going  into  the  vault,  related  that  he  distinctly 
heard  a  noise,  which  he  recognised  as  the  groan  which  he 
had  frequently  heard  Mr.  Lupton  utter,  when  he  was  inti- 
mate with  him,  while  yet  living.  (See  "Lost  Chapters,"  p. 
331.)  Query.  Was  the  old  trustee  demurring  to  the  removal 
of  his  dust?  Those  who  reject  the  marvellous,  will  reject 
this  as  a  reality.  Those  who  are  inclined  to  believe  in 
supernaturals,  will  make  more  of  it. 

Henry  Newton  was  an  Englishman,  and,  in  point  of  im- 
portance, stood  next  to  Mr.  Lupton  in  the  New  York  Metho- 
dist society.  He  lived  and  died  a  bachelor.  He  was  much 
of  a  gentleman,  and  had,  in  advanced  years,  considerable 
property.  He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Wesley 
Chapel,  and  one  of  the  first  stewards  of  the  New  York  Me- 
thodists. He  was  connected  with  Wesley  Chapel  until  one 
was  erected  in  Second  street,  now  called  Forsyth,  when,  on 
account  of  convenience,  he  united  with  the  latter.  His  dust 
rests  in  a  vault,  in  the  Forsyth  street  churchyard.  "  Lost 
Chapters,"  pp.  80-3. 

Richard  Sause  was  the  first  who  boarded  Mr.  Wesley's 
missionaries  in  America ;  his  house  was  Mr.  Boardman's 
home,  in  1769,  when  he  first  arrived  in  New  York.  In 
January,  1770,  he  received  twelve  pounds  for  boarding  Mr. 
Boardman  one  quarter.     "Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  85-6. 

Stephen  Sands  succeeded  James  Jarvis  as  treasurer.  His 
business  was  with  chronometers ;  he  was  called  a  "  watch- 
maker." In  1776,  he  boarded  the  preacher.  James 
Dempster  was  in  New  York  in  1775  ;  but  he  left  the  Metho- 
dists and  went  to  the  Presbyterians.  Daniel  Ruff"  went  to 
New  York  in  the  spring  of  1776  ;  but  the  preacher  Mr. 
Sands  boarded,  must  have  come  in  between  Dempster  and 
Ruff.  The  board  was  paid  him  January,  1776 ;  which  was 
before  Mr.  Ruff  reached  New  York.  At  his  house  Dr.  Coke 
put  up  on  his  arrival  in  New  York,  in  1784.  "  Lost  Chap- 
ters," pp.  86-8. 

John  Staples  was  an  early  Methodist  in  New  York.     He 


38  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1769-70. 

was  an  official  man  in  1774 — both  steward  and  treasurer. 
He  married  the  widow  Lovegrove,  who  was  among  the  early 
Methodists.  He  was  a  Prussian,  and  introduced  the  sugar- 
refining  process  into  this  country.  He  became  wealthy,  and 
moved  in  the  higher  circle  of  society.  When  the  British 
held  New  York,  they  confined  the  American  prisoners  in  his 
sugar-house,  where  their  suff"erings  were  greater  than  many 
suffer  by  dying,  for  they  were  protracted  tortures.  Report 
says  that  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  first  saw  Miss 
Catherine  Livingston,  who  afterwards  became  his  wife,  at  the 
house  of  Mr.  Staples.  After  he  had  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  wealth,  he  retired  to  his  country-seat  at  Newtown,  on 
Long  Island,  where  he  met  some  reverse  of  fortune  through 
the  misfortune  of  his  son.  He  died  in  1806.  His  widow 
died  in  1821,  at  the  age  of  ninety.  They  were  both  interred 
in  the  family  burying  ground  at  Newtown,  Long  Island. 
"  Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  88-90. 

John  Chave  was  a  British  officer  in  the  time  of  the  French 
war,  at  which  time  he,  as  well  as  Captain  Webb  and  William 
Lupton,  first  came  to  America.  He  experienced  religion 
while  in  the  army.  He  was  one  of  the  original  subscribers 
to  Wesley  chapel ;  and  we  must  regard  him  as  one  of  the 
Methodists  at  that  time ;  his  attachment  to  Mr.  Wesley  was 
great.  It  was  his  practice,  whenever  he  awoke  at  night,  to 
spend  the  time  in  prayer.  After  he  ceased  to  live  in  New 
York,  he  resided  for  a  time  in  Newark,  New  Jersey ;  then  in 
Greenwich,  a  suburb  of  New  York ;  afterwards  at  Walton, 
Delaware  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
six,  about  the  year  1816,  where  he  was  buried. 

In  Mr.  Asbur3'-'s  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  26,  he  says,  under 
date  of  September,  1772,  he  "  appointed  Mr.  C.  to  take  an 
account  of  the  weekly  and  quarterly  collections."  In  one 
edition  of  these  Journals,  in  the  Arminian  Magazines  for 
1789-90,  this  name  is  written  Chase :  but,  as  I  have  not  full 
evidence  that  there  was  a  Methodist  in  New  York  of  this 
name,  I  suspect  it  was  John  Chave-;  the  letters  are  the  same, 
except  one. 

Philip  Marchington  was  an  official  Methodist  in  New  York 
during  the  war.  He  left  in  1783,  probably  on  account  of  his 
loyal  principles  to  King  George,  and  settled  in  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia.  Here  Mr.  Garrettson  had  him  for  his  kind 
host  in  1785,  when  he  went  there  as  a  missionary.  See  Gar- 
rettson's  Life,  pp.  141-148. 

The  first  Methodist  parsonage,  or  as  it  was  then  called, 
"The  Preacher's  House,"  was  prepared  in  New  York,  in 


1770].  IN    AMERICA.  39 

1770.  Before  that,  the  preachers  had  been  boarded ;  after- 
wards they  were  to  have  a  furnished  house  and  housekeeper, 
where  they  were  to  take  their  meals,  study,  and  sleep.  This 
house  communicated  with  Wesley  Chapel.  Part  of  the  fur- 
niture was  bought  and  part  was  borrowed.  Mr.  Lupton  lent 
one  bed-quilt;  Mr.  Newton,  tw^o  blankets  and  three  pictures; 
Mr.  Dean,  one  knife  box  ;  Mrs.  Taylor,  five  chairs,  five  pic- 
tures, three  tables,  two  iron  pots,  pair  of  andirons,  and  chaf- 
ing dish  ;  Mrs.  Trigler,  bed  curtains  and  looking-glass  ;  Mrs. 
Jarvis,  one  window  curtain,  a  half  dozen  plates,  and  a  dish ; 
Mrs.  Souse,  four  teaspoons,  and  six  knives  and  forks ;  Mrs. 
Benninger,  one  window  curtain ;  Mrs.  Sennet,  one  gridiron, 
and  pair  of  bellows ;  Mrs.  Earnest,  six  China  cups  and 
saucers  ;  Mrs.  Moon,  one  table  cloth  and  towel,  one  dish, 
three  wine  glasses,  and  cruet ;  Mrs.  Leadbetter,  tea  chest  and 
canister ;  Mrs.  Newton,  one  bottle,  sauce  boat,  and  chamber- 
set  ;  Mrs.  Chas.  White,  one  copper  tea  kettle  ;  Mrs.  Harri- 
son, three  China  plates,  two  China  cups,  four  silver  tea- 
spoons, and  one  picture;  Mrs.  Crossfield,  two  table-cloths; 
Mrs.  Crook,  three  table-cloths,  two  towels,  and  two  pillow- 
cases ;  Mrs.  Heckey,  one  chair  and  cushion ;  Mrs.  Ten  Eyck, 
one  bed  spread. 

From  this  statement,  taken  from  "Lost  Chapters,"  pp. 
221-2,  we  see  that  the  ladies  of  New  York  did  more  in  fur- 
nishing the  "Preacher's  House,"  than  the  gentlemen;  and 
we  suppose  they  were  all  members  of  the  Methodist  society, 
at  the  time ;  thus  we  are  able  to  know  the  names  of  some  of 
the  female  part  of  the  society,  as  well  as  the  males. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Mr.  Webb,  having  introduced  Methodism  on  Long  Island, 
and  assisted  in  building  it  up  in  New  York,  his  zeal  led  him 
to  seek  new  fields  where  he  might  proclaim  the  riches  of 
redeeming  grace. 

It  is  possible  that  Captain  Webb  first  visited  Philadelphia 
in  1767  ;  if  not  in  that  year,  it  is  certain  that  he  preached 
in  it  in  17G8.  Mr.  John  Hood  joined  the  first  class  which 
Captain  Webb  formed  in  this  city, — it  consisted  of  seven 
persons;  and  was  formed  as  early  as  1768,  if  not  earlier. 
Brother  Hood  died  in  1829,  having  been  a  model  Methodist 


40  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1768. 

for  more  than  sixty-one  years.  His  intimate  friend,  Dr. 
Thomas  F.  Sargent,  who  had  often  conversed  with  him  on 
the  introduction  of  Methodism  into  Philadelphia  by  Mr. 
Webb,  and  had  a  particular  knowledge  of  every  circumstance 
relating  to  it,  published  a  biographical  sketch  of  John  Hood 
in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  giving  the  particu- 
lars, as  he  had  received  them  again  and  again,  from  this 
primitive  Methodist.  From  Dr.  Sargent's  account,  we  are 
able  to  give  the  particulars  as  to  the  first  place  where  Webb 
preached,  and  the  names  he  enrolled  as  the  first  who  united 
together  in  Philadelphia  as  Methodists. 

The  place  where  Webb  opened  his  commission  in  this  city 
was  near  the  drawbridge,  w'hich  then  spanned  Dock  Creek, 
at  Front  Street,  on  the  Delaware  river, — in  a  sail-loft,  the 
use  of  which  he  had  obtained  from  a  sail-maker,  whose  name 
was  Croft.  After  the  most  diligent  inquiry,  we  have  not 
been  able  to  find  any  one  who  could  point  to  the  precise  spot 
or  house  where  his  voice  was  first  heard  in  this  city,  warning 
the  people  to  "flee  from  the  wrath  to  come."  In  this  mat- 
ter, the  Methodists  of  Philadelphia  have  not  been  as  careful 
as  those  of  New  York,  who  have  preserved  a  record  of  the 
first  place  where  Embury  and  Webb  preached  in  the  last- 
named  city.  The  first  class  was  formed,  and  met  in  the  sail- 
loft  near  the  dock. 

He  continued  to  preach  in  this  city,  and  the  adjacent 
regions,  until  the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor  in 
1769,  who  found  him  in  town  when  they  landed.  It  is  said, 
that  a  part  of  this  time  he  made  Philadelphia  his  home. 

The  ministry  of  Dr.  Wrangle,  who  w^as  a  missionary  from 
the  government  of  Sweden  to  the  Swedish  Churches  of  Penn- 
sylvania, had  somewhat  prepared  the  way  for  the  introduction 
of  Methodism  into  Philadelphia.  Under  his  ministry  Mr. 
John  Hood  received  his  first  religious  impressions ;  who,  on 
opening  his  mind  to  the  Doctor,  w^as  advised  to  form  an 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lambert  Wilmer,  at  that  time  a  mem- 
ber of  St.  Paul's  Church,  w^ho  was  a  pious  young  man,  and 
on  that  account  a  suitable  companion  for  Mr.  Hood.  An 
acquaintance  at  once  commenced  between  these  two  young 
men  that  ripened  into  the  warmest  friendship  ;  such  was  their 
love  for  each  other  that  they  mutually  requested  to  be  buried 
in  the  same  grave,  which  request  was  fulfilled.  Mr.  Wilmer 
died  in  1824  or  in  1825,  and  in  1829  his  grave  was  opened 
to  receive  the  remains  of  Brother  Hood, — they  repose  under 
the  Union  Church. 

In  1768  Dr.  Wrangle  was  called  home,  returning  by  way 


1768.]  IN    AMERICA.  41 

of  Englanfl,  where  he  spent  some  time,  and  formed  an 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Wesley,  whose  zeal,  usefulness,  and 
economy,  he  much  admired.  Under  date  of  October  of  this 
year,  Mr.  Wesley  w^rote  in  his  Journal :  "I  dined,  (at  Bristol, 
England,)  with  Dr.  Wrangle,  one  of  the  king  of  Svreden's 
chaplains,  who  has  spent  several  years  in  Pennsylvania.  His 
heart  seemed  to  be  greatly  united  to  the  American  Christians  ; 
and  he  strongly  pleaded  for  our  sending  some  of  our  preachers 
to  help  them,  multitudes  of  whom  are  as  sheep  without  a 
shepherd.  He  preached  at  the  new  room,  to  a  crowded 
audience  and  gave  general  satisfaction  by  the  simplicity  and 
life  which  accompanied  his  sound  doctrine."  It  has  been 
thought  that  his  pleading  w^ith  Mr.  Wesley  had  some  influ- 
ence,— in  the  following  year  two  preachers  were  sent.  While 
Dr.  Wrangle  was  in  England,  he  corresponded  with  Messrs. 
Hood  and  Wilmer  and  others  of  his  pious  acquaintances  in 
Philadelphia,  sending  them  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  religious 
tracts,  and  advised  them  in  case  the  Wesleyan  preachers 
f  )i'med  a  society  in  Philadelphia,  to  unite  with  it :  thus  were 
Messrs.  Hood,  Wilmer  and  others  directed,  by  this  pious 
Swede,  to  the  Methodists:  and  when  Messrs.  Boardman  and 
Pilmoor  were  appointed  to  labor  in  America,  it  was  first  known 
to  the  Philadelphia  brethren  by  a  letter  from  him. 

The  same  year,  while  Dr.  Wrangle  was  pleading  for  the 
destitute  in  Pennsylvania,  Captain  Webb  formed  a  Methodist 
society  in  Philadelphia,  which  was  the  first  society  raised  up 
in  that  city.  When  first  formed,  it  consisted  of  James  Emer- 
son and  wife.  Miles  Pennington  and  wife,  Robert  Fitzgerald 
and  wife,  and  John  Hood, — seven  persons.  James  Emerson 
was  the  first  Methodist  class-leader  in  Philadelphia.  Soon 
after  the  society  was  formed,  Lambert  Wilmer  and  wife, 
Duncan  Steward  and  wife.  Burton  Wallace  and  wife,  Mrs. 
John  Hood,  and  Mr.  Croft  (the  proprietor  of  their  place  of 
worship),  were  added  to  it.  Not  long  afterwards,  Edward 
Evans,  Daniel  Montgomery,  John  Dowers,  Edmund  Beach, 
and  probably  their  wives,  were  also  added  to  it.  The  Rev. 
Peter  Vanest  informed  us  that  in  1771  he  was  in  Philadel- 
phia, but  knew  no  Methodists  in  this  city  but  John  Patterson 
and  wife,  who  were  then  members  of  society.  Nor  did  he 
wish  to  know  the  Methodists  then ;  for,  when  he  passed  by 
St.  Georges',  he  was  afraid  to  go  on  the  east  side  of  Fourth 
St.,  and  bore  away  on  the  west  side  to  avoid  the  contagion 
of  Methodism. 

In  1770,  John  Hood  was  made  leader  in  the  place  of 
James  Emerson ;  and,  in  1783,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by 
4* 


42  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1768. 

the  Rev.  Caleb  B.  Pedicord.  Mr.  Hood  breakfasted  \vith 
Mr.  Asbury  the  morning  after  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  in 
company  with  Captain  Hood,  his  nephew,  who  brought  Mr. 
Asbury  to  America.  Among  other  sayings,  Mr.  Asbury  re- 
marked to  Mr.  John  Hood:  "Your  nephew  is  quite  the 
gentleman ;  but  I  am  afraid  the  devil  will  get  him,  for  he 
has  not  got  religion."  John  Hood  continued  a  member  of 
St.  George's,  acting  as  a  local  preacher,  class-leader,  and 
clerk :  he  was  in  his  day  one  of  the  "  sweet  singers  of 
Israel."  When  he  stood  up  to  sing  in  St.  George's,  his 
pleasing  countenance  seemed  to  have  heaven  daguerreotyped 
upon  it,  and  his  sweet  voice  was  in  harmony  with  his  face. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  of  Christians,  beloved  by  all  that 
knew  him.  "  Heaven,"  was  the  last  word  that  he  was  heard 
to  utter.  He  had  been  a  Methodist  sixty-one  years ;  and  at 
his  death  in  1829,  was  probably  the  oldest  one  in  America. 
He  was  born  in  1749,  joined  the  Methodists  in  his  nineteenth 
year,  and  died  in  his  eightieth  year.  The  last  twenty-eighc 
years  of  his  life  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Academy  or 
Union. 

Mr.  Lambert  Wilmer  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  but  made 
Philadelphia  his  home.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  militia,  at 
the  time  of  the  struggle  for  independence,  and  was  in  the 
engagements  at  Germantown,  Trenton,  and  Princeton.  His 
first  wife  was  a  Miss  Mary  Barker,  of  the  region  of  Salem, 
New  Jersey.  They  were  leaders  of  classes  among  the 
Methodists  at  an  early  day  at  St.  George's.  Mrs.  Wilmer 
was  a  distinguished  primitive  Methodist  in  Philadelphia. 
In  1772,  Mr.  Asbury  made  Mr.  Wilmer's  his  temporary 
home ;  and  observes :  "  I  was  heavily  afflicted,  and  dear 
sister  Wilmer  took  great  care  of  me."  She  was  the  second 
female  class-leader  in  this  city — appointed  to  that  office 
about  1775.  In  1796  she  triumphed  over  death,  in  her  fifty- 
first  year :  she  is  still  represented  in  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  by  her  descendants. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  century,  when  some  fifty-one  of 
the  St.  George's  members  left  the  parent  church,  and  bought 
the  south  end  of  the  Academy,  which  was  founded  by  the 
Bev.  George  Whitefield,  about  1740,  Mr.  Wilmer  was  one 
of  the  number ;  he  continued  in  union  with  this  church  until 
his  death.  In  establishing  the  Academy  Church,  Colonel 
North,  Jacob  Baker,  Esq.,  Messrs.  Hood,  Haskins,  Harvey, 
Gouge,  Ingels  (the  last  five  were  local  preachers),  Comegys, 
and  probably  Dr.  Lusby,  with  others,  were  chief  men. 

Mrs.  Mary  Thorne  was  of  Welch  descent,   a  native  of 


1769.]  IN    AMERICA.  43 

Bristol,  Bucks  county,  Pa.  Her  maiden  name  was  Evans; 
her  parents  had  settled  at  Newbern,  North  Carolina.  While 
in  the  South  she  joined  the  Baptists.  Having  married,  and 
losing  her  husband,  she  came  with  her  mother  and  family  to 
reside  in  Philadelphia.  Her  soul  was  ardent  and  devotional, 
and  being  a  diligent  reader  of  the  Bible,  she  thought  she 
discovered  heights  of  holiness  therein,  beyond  what  -was 
taught  by  the  sect  of  Christians  to  which  she  was  united. 
Being  a  stranger  in  this  city,  and  knowing  nothing  of  the 
Methodists,  .she  besought  the  Lord  in  prayer  to  direct  her 
to  Christians,  if  such  there  were,  who  taught  and  professed 
to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  Bible  holiness.  Having  thus 
committed  herself  to  Divine  direction,  she  went  through  the 
streets  of  Philadelphia  seeking  a  place  of  worship,  and  came 
where  Mr.  Pilmoor  was  officiating — she  turned  in,  and  was 
soon  impressed  that  the  Lord  had  heard  her  prayer,  and  was 
guiding  her  in  the  way  he  would  have  her  go.  She  united 
with  the  Methodists,  and  shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Pilmoor 
appointed  her  leader  of  a  class  of  females — she  was  the 
first  female  class-leader  in  Philadelphia.  Her  mother  and 
brothers  entertained  great  prejudices  against  the  Methodists. 
Having  prevailed  with  one  of  her  brothers  to  go  and  hear 
Mr.  Boardman,  he  was  so  truly  portrayed  by  the  preacher, 
that  he  grew  angry  under  the  sermon,  and  said  to  himself, 
"  Sister  Poll  has  told  the  preacher  all  about  me."  Her 
mother  went  once  to  hear,  and  Captain  Webb  was  the 
preacher ;  they  professed  to  be  disgusted  and  would  go  no 
more ;  and  as  one  of  the  family  was  a  Methodist,  and  fear- 
ing that  more  of  them  might  join  them,  the  mother  with 
her  husband,  resolved  to  return  to  Newbern  and  take  the 
daughter  away  from  the  Methodists ;  but  Mrs.  Thorne  laid 
the  matter  before  God  in  prayer,  when — "  He  that  loveth 
father  or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me,"  was 
applied  to  her  heart,  and  she  resolved  to  remain  among  her 
spiritual  relations,  rather  than  follow  her  relations  according 
to  the  flesh.  She  supported  herself  by  teaching  a  school. 
Her  talents,  which  were  above  the  common  grade,  Avere  fully 
devoted  to  God  in  the  furtherance  of  Methodism  ;  and  she 
appears  to  have  been  among  the  most  useful  members  of  the 
society  at  that  time.  She  lived  near  the  corner  of  Bread 
and  Mulberry  streets;  and  often  did  Messrs.  Boardman, 
Pilmoor,  Asbury,  and  others  of  the  early  laborers,  turn  into 
her  house  for  retirement  and  intercourse  with  Heaven. 
Some  time  before  the  Revolutionary  war  closed  she  married 
a  Captain  Parker,  and  they  went  to  England,  where  they 


44  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1769. 

died  in  the  Methodist  "  faith."  Their  son  was  some  time 
teacher  at  Woodhouse  Grove  among  the  Wesleyans  ;  but  left, 
and  came  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died,  leaving  a  widow 
and  daughter  that  are  now  in  this  city.  They  have  in  their 
keeping,  as  memorials  of  Mrs.  Thorne,  her  likeness,  and  a 
lamp-stand  that  supported  the  old  family  Bible ;  the  Urira 
and  Thummim  that  she  consulted  in  this  city  more  than 
eighty  years  ago. 

Mrs.  Jacob  Baker  joined  the  society  in  1772,  and  her 
husband  in  1773,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  marble  slabs 
that  are  over  their  remains  in  the  rear  of  the  Union  Church. 

Mr.  Jacob  Baker,  who  united  with  the  Methodists  in  1773, 
was  a  wholesale  dry-goods  merchant,  and  lived  at  No.  62 
Front  street,  Philadelphia — it  was  North  Front,  below  Mul- 
berry.    See  "Lost  Chapters,"  by  J.  B.  Wakeley,  p.  376. 

Mr.  Baker  and  his  wife  were  born  the  same  year;  1753 
was  their  natal  year.  They  were  married  in  1773,  when 
twenty  years  old.  The  same  year  he  united  himself  with 
the  Methodists.  She,  who  was  now  his  wife,  joined  them 
the  year  before  they  were  united  in  matrimony.  After 
they  had  lived  together  in  happy  Christian  union  for  forty- 
four  years,  she  was  called  home  in  1817  to  enjoy  the 
reward  of  righteousness.  Her  companion  survived  her  to 
mourn  her  loss  for  three  years,  when,  in  1820,  he  followed 
her  in  triumph.  She  was  sixty-four  years  old,  and  he  was 
sixty-seven.  They  were  some  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth. 
Mr.  Baker  was  remarkably  benevolent ;  and,  if  he  did  not 
carry  his  benevolence  as  far  as  Anthony  Benezette,  of 
Chestnut  street,  who  fed  his  rats,  he  was  careful  to  "  feed 
the  hungry"  of  his  own  species,  and  abounded  in  good  works. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  second  board  of  trustees  of  St. 
George's ;  and,  we  presume,  was  a  trustee  of  the  Academy 
Church,  after  the  Methodists  bought  it  for  §8000,  in  1801 
or  1802.  He  was  also  the  president  of  the  board  of  trust 
of  the  Chartered  Fund.  His  daughter  was  married  to  Mr. 
Comescys.  She  is  still  livinsj,  and  has  lonor  been  a  Metho- 
dist,  and  a  member  of  the  Union  M.  E.  Church.  Her 
daughter.  Miss  Hannah  Comegys,  was  also  an  exemplary 
Methodist. 

In  1813,  as  Bishop  Asbury  was  returning  from  New 
England,  he  came  to  Danville,  where  he  found,  unexpect- 
edly, an  old  acquaintance,  and  says,  "  The  wife  of  Daniel 
Montgomery  is  my  old  friend  Molly  Wallace,  but  ah !  how 
changed  in  forty-two  years!"  He  first  saw  her  in  1771. 
when,   most  likely,   she  was  the  wife  of  Burton  Wallace. 


1769-70.]  IN   AMERICA.  45 

This  was  when  Mr.  Asbury  first  landed  in  Philadelphia. 
Burton  Wallace  and  his  wife  joined  the  first  society  raised 
up  in  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER  V. 

As  Captain  Webb  had  been  active  in  getting  up  the  first 
Methodist  Church  in  New  York,  he  was  no  less  active  in 
procuring  a  place  of  worship  in  Philadelphia.  In  1770, 
when  the  Methodists  bought  the  building,  which  has  since 
been  known  as  St.  George's,  lie  contributed  his  money  and 
iiis  services  towards  it. 

In  1763,  John  Frick,  Jacob  Roth,  John  Haugh,  Conrad 
Alster,  Valentine  Kern,  Laurence  Baumberger,  Sigmond 
Hagelganss,  Peter  Teiss,  Robert  Shearer,  John  Scheh, 
Christian  Roth,  and  Joseph  Job,  who,  we  have  been  informed, 
were,  or  had  been,  members  of  the  German  Reformed  Con- 
gregation at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Sassafras  streets,  took 
up  a  lot  of  ground  of  Dr.  Shippen,  and  erected  a  building 
thereon  about  fifty-five  by  eighty-five  feet,  intending  it  to  be 
their  place  of  worship.  They  were  not  able  to  carry  the 
enterprise  through,  became  embarrassed,  and  it  has  been 
said,  that  they  were  imprisoned  for  the  debts  they  had 
contracted ;  and,  when  their  acquaintances  inquired  of  them 
as  they  looked  through  the  prison  windows  :  "  For  what  were 
you  put  in  jail  ?"  They  answered :  "  For  building  a  church !" 
To  go  to  jail  for  the  pious  deed  of  building  a  church  became 
a  proverb  in  the  city  of  brotherly  love.  An  act  was  passed 
by  the  Provincial  Assembly  in  1769,  which  provided  for  the 
sale  of  the  church,  and  the  payment  of  its  debts.  On  the 
12th  of  June,  1770,  the  church  was  deeded  to  William 
Branson  Hockley,  in  consideration  of  <£700.  On  the  14th 
of  June,  1770,  Mr.  Hockley,  by  deed,  conveyed  the  property 
to  Miles  Pennington  (a  Methodist),  for  X650 — Pennsylvania 
currency  ; — and,  on  the  11th  of  September,  1770,  the  said 
Miles  Pennington,  tallow  chandler,  by  deed,  conveyed  the 
church  to  Richard  Boardman,  Joseph  Pilmoor,  Thomas 
Webb,  Edward  Evans,  Daniel  Montgomery,  John  Dowers, 
Edmund  Beach,  Robert  Fitzgerald,  and  James  Emerson,  for 
the  sum  of  <£650.  It  has  long  been  known  by  the  name  of 
St.  George'.s,  though  it  does  not  appear  that  it  was  baptized 


46  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1770. 

by  this  name  till  about  1780.  The  first  time  that  Mr.  Asbury 
records  it  by  this  name  was  in  1781 ;  before  that  he  says, 
"  Our  preaching  house,"  &c. 

It  was  fitted  up  in  a  very  cheap  style  for  worship ;  and 
the  Methodists  left  (if  they  had  not  done  it  before)  the  sail- 
loft  of  Mr.  Croft,  to  hear  the  Gospel  preached  in  their  own 
house.  When  Howe's  army  entered  Philadelphia  in  1777, 
this  house  was  occupied  by  a  portion  of  it ;  and  whatever 
fixtures  the  Methodists  had  put  in  it  were  torn  out.  Other 
places  of  worship  received  similar  treatment.  When  Mr. 
Abbott  first  went  to  Trenton  to  preach,  he  says,  "  Our 
meeting-house  was  turned  into  a  stable  by  the  army."  Long 
after  peace  was  proclaimed,  the  implements  of  war  lay 
around  St.  George's.  The  insults  that  these  profane  soldiers 
offered  to  religion,  were  no  doubt  avenged  upon  them. 

When  the  British  took  possession  of  Philadelphia  in  1777, 
after  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  though  they  dispossessed 
the  Methodists  of  St.  George's,  making  it  a  riding  school  for 
their  cavalry,  it  is  said  they  showed  some  regard  to  them 
(probably,  on  account  of  the  side  Mr.  Wesley  espoused  in 
this  contest,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  cause  that  led 
them  to  favor  Wesley  Chapel  and  the  Methodists  of  New 
York),  by  giving  them  the  use  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
in  Lagrange  Place,  in  Front  street,  to  worship  in;  thus 
showing  them  a  little  more  favor  than  was  manifested  to  the 
Baptists  and  Presbyterians. 

When  the  British  army  left  Philadelphia,  the  Methodists 
began  to  rally,  to  build  up  their  shattered  cause,  which  was 
now  in  a  worse  condition  than  it  was  eight  years  before. 
They  made  out  to  put  a  rough  ground  floor  in  the  east  end 
of  their  church,  while  the  other  half  of  it  had  its  natural 
earthen  floor, — their  seats  were  equally  coarse  ;  and,  the 
pulpit  was  a  square  box  in  the  north  side,  near  the  door  that 
was  in  the  church  before  it  was  modernized, — and  the 
preachers  and  people  could  rejoice  that  they  had  such  accom- 
modations for  worship ;  when  Mr.  Wesley  preached  in  a 
stable,  he  did  not  think  he  had  condescended  too  low,  as  he 
professed  to  be  a  follower  of  him  who  was  born  in  a  stable. 
The  holy  men  that  planted  Methodism,  could  condescend  to 
anything  but  sin.  In  1779,  some  of  the  Philadelphia 
brethren  went  down  to  the  quarterly  meeting  in  Kent  county, 
Delaware,  where  they  saw  Mr.  Asbury,  and  he  sent  Mr. 
Garrettson  to  preach  for  them  and  re-organize  them.  He 
continued  with  them  two  months  and  was  followed  by  Philip 
Cox,  and  in  1780,  John  Cooper  and  George  Mair  were  ap- 


1770.]  IN    AMERICA.  47 

pointed  to  the  Philadelphia  Circuit,  and  ever  since  there  has 
been  a  supply. 

In  process  of  time  the  house  was  floored  from  end  to  end, 
and  more  comely  seats  were  put  in  it,  with  a  new  pulpit,  like 
a  tall  tub  on  a  post,  which  was  the  fashion  of  the  times,  but 
one  of  the  worst  fashions  that  ever  was  for  a  pulpit.  It  was 
generally  too  high,  it  held  but  one  person,  and  scarcely  had 
room  in  it  to  allow  any  action  in  the  speaker.  In  such  a 
place  Mr.  Webster,  or  some  great  man,  has  said,  no  lawyer 
could  hope  to  gain  his  cause.  This  second  pulpit  stood  in 
the  right  place — in  the  centre  of  the  east  end  of  the  church. 
The  house  was  not  plastered  until  Dr.  Coke  came  to  America, 
and  the  Methodists  were  organized  into  a  Church. 

During  the  first  fifteen  years  that  the  Methodists  wor- 
shipped in  St.  George's,  they  sat  under  the  ministry  of  most 
of  the  Fathers  that  planted  Methodism  in  America ;  such 
preachers  as  Boardman,  Pilmoor,  Webb,  Williams,  King, 
Asbury,  Wright,  Watters,  Rankin,  Shadford,  Gatch,  Duke, 
Webster,  RuflF,  Lindsay,  Spragg,  Rodda,  Jno.  Cooper,  Hart- 
ley, Garrettson,  McGlure,  Kennedy,  Pedicord,  Tunnell,  Gill, 
Dickens,  Ellis,  Cole,  Chew,  Cromwell,  Cox,  Ivy,  Willis,  Rowe, 
Dudley,  Hagerty,  N.  Read,  Foster,  Boyer,  Mair,  Lambert, 
Everett,  McGeary,  Thomas,  Hickson,  Haskins,  Lee,  Green, 
Phoebus,  Jessup,  Coleman,  Ware,  Whatcoat,  and  Dr.  Coke. 

There  was  no  church  in  the  connection  that  Mr.  Asbury 
labored  as  much  for  as  St.  George's.  It  was  for  nearly  fifty 
years  the  largest  place  of  worship  that  the  Methodists  had  in 
America.  Metaphorically  it  was  their  cathedral.  In  1772, 
he  was  endeavoring  to  raise  ^150 — to  discharge  the  debt 
upon  it.  In  1782,  he  received  a  subscription  of  £270 — to 
relieve  it  of  the  encumbrance  of  ground-rent.  In  1786,  he 
was  trying  to  discharge  its  debt,  which  then  amounted  to 
XoOO.  In  1789,  he  had  a  meeting  of  the  principal  members, 
to  consult  about  incorporating  it.  As  the  original  trustees 
were  all  out  of  the  board  except  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  in  the  same 
year  James  Kenear,  Thomas  Arnnatt,  Jacob  Baker,  John 
Hood,  James  Doughty,  Josiah  Lusby,  Duncan  Stewart,  and 
Burton  Wallace,  were  added  to  fill  it  up.  About  1791,  the 
galleries  were  put  in  it,  after  the  Methodists  had  owned  it 
more  than  twenty  years.  In  1795,  after  preaching  in  it,  he 
says,  "To  my  surprise  I  saw  the  galleries  filled;"  what  he 
had  not  seen  before.  In  1798,  he  had  his  last  meeting  with 
the  trustees,  to  consult  about  the  church,  and  it  was  resolved 
to  raise  a  subscription  to  complete  it.  This  sketch  shows  the 
difiiculty  the  Methodists  had  to  bring  their  first  church  in 


48  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1770. 

this  city  to  the  condition  that  it  was  in  fifty  years  ago  ;  the 
time  for  them  to  stucco  and  fresco  their  churches  was  not 
yet.  During  the  present  generation,  this  cimrch  has  been 
greatly  improved  by  a  basement  story,  and  other  arrange- 
ments. Those  that  see  it  now  cannot  imagine  how  it  looked 
eighty  years  ago. 

Mr.  Robert  Fitzgerald,  who  was  one  of  the  first  that  united 
with  the  Methodists  in  this  city  in  1768,  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Shippen  and  Penn  streets,  and  was  the  great 
patron  of  Methodism  in  Southwark  ;  he  was  a  block  and 
pump  maker,  and  the  preachers  frequently  preached  in  his 
shop.  As  early  as  1774,  Mr.  Shadford  preached  in  the  new 
market  in  Second  st.,  below  Pine.  As  soon  as  it  was  thought 
expedient  to  have  a  class  down  town,  one  was  formed  that 
met  at  Brother  Fitzgerald's.  This  led  to  the  erection  of  a 
place  of  worship.  In  1790,  Ebenezer,  in  Second  St.,  below 
Catherine,  was  opened  for  divine  service ;  it  was  a  brick 
building;,  about  thirty  feet  square,  and  was  the  first  place  of 
worship  that  the  Methodists  erected  in  Philadelphia  county ; 
and  it  was  not  built  until  the  lapse  of  twenty  years  after  the 
purchase  of  St.  George's.  It  continued  to  be  a  place  of 
worship  where  there  was  preaching,  prayer  meetings,  class 
meetings,  and  Sunday  School  until  very  lately,  when  it  was 
sold;  and  the  old  humble-looking  chapel  has  disappeared, 
and  houses  of  other  appearance  and  use  have  taken  its 
place. 

x\bout  the  same  time  that  the  Methodists  bought  St. 
George's,  there  was  a  small  stone  building  erected  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  about  twenty  miles  north  of  Philadelphia, 
which  has  since  been  known  by  the  name  of  Bethel,  intended 
to  be  a  place  of  worship.  Mr.  Supplee  was  the  chief  person 
concerned  in  building  it.  At  this  time  he  knew  but  little,  if 
anything,  of  the  Methodists,  but  believed  that  the  Lord 
would  raise  up  a  people  in  his  neighborhood  to  serve  him. 
It  was  not  long  before  the  preachers  found  out  the  place — 
being  invited  b}''  the  founder  of  the  house ;  a  society  was 
raised  up,  which  still  continues ;  and,  although  it  has 
never  been  large,  it  has  always  contained  a  number  of  sub- 
stantial members.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  stands  which 
the  Methodist  preachers  have  occupied  in  Pennsylvania,  next 
to  Philadelphia. 

Hans  Supplee,  mentioned  above,  took  the  lead  in  erecting 
this  house  of  worship,  and  bringing  the  Methodists  to  it. 
His  son,  Abraham  Supplee,  was  a  local  preacher,  and  died 
in  1827.    His  widow  died  in  1841,  in  her  ninety-second  year. 


1770.]  IX   AMERICA.  49 

A  short  time  before  her  death,  she  was  asked  how  long  she 
had  been  a  Methodist.  She  replied,  "From  the  very  first 
of  my  hearing  Captain  Webb  preach."  Mr.  Pilmoor  also 
preached  at  Mr.  Supplee's,  at  that  early  day,  and  probably 
Mr.  Boardman. 

After  the  battle  of  Germantown,  in  1777,  the  American 
army  retreated  to  the  neighborhood  of  Bethel,  which  stands 
on  high  ground,  commanding  a  view  of  several  miles  north 
and  south.  The  chapel  was  used  for  a  hospital  for  the  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers.  Many  of  them  died  and  are  buried 
here.  While  the  army  was  here,  some  of  the  ofiicers  were 
quartered  with  Abraham  Supplee,  while  General  Washington 
liad  his  head-quarters  at  Peter  Wentz's,  on  the  Skippack 
Creek.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  army  had  its  rejoicing 
on  hearing  of  the  surrender  of  General  Burgoyne  to  General 
Gates,  at  Saratoga.  Many  of  the  bullets  discharged  then 
have  since  been  extracted  from  the  trees. 

Jemima  Wilkinson,  who  was  called  "The  Friend,"  for  a 
number  of  years  inhabited  Hans  Supplee's  old  mansion,  and 
held  her  religious  meetings  in  it  before  she  settled  at  Bluff 
Point,  on  Crooked  Lake,  in  Yates  county,  N.  Y.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  she  was  the  head  of  a  small  religious 
denomination. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Beam,  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference, 
now  among  the  oldest  Methodist  preachers  of  America, 
informed  us  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Deamour,  who  founded  the 
chapel  called  "  Old  Forrest,"  in  Berks  county,  Pa.,  was  also 
instrumental  in  the  erection  of  the  old  stone  chapel  called 
"  Bethel,"  in  Montgomery  county.  Pa.  We  have  elsewhere 
conjectured  that  this  Deamour  was  a  zealous  preacher  of  the 
New  Light,  or  Whitefield  school ;  for  we  have  never  found 
any  one  who  could  tell  us  explicitly  to  what  sect  he  belonged, 
or  whether  he  was  raising  up  a  new  sect. 


CHAPTER  VL 

Captain  Webb,  in  visiting  Philadelphia,  had  to  pass 
through  New  Jersey,  and  was  the  first  of  Mr.  Wesley's  fol- 
lowers, that  preached  in  Trenton,  New  Mills,  Burlington,  and 
other  places  in  the  province.  Burlington  was  first  settled  in 
1677 — five  years  before  Philadelphia.  As  early  as  1769,  or 
earlier,  Mr.  Webb  began  to  exercise  his  ministry  in  this 
5 


50  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1769. 

town.  He  preached  in  the  market-place,  and  in  the  court- 
house. Among  the  first  converts  which  he  made  to  God  and 
Methodism,  w^as  Mr.  Joseph  Toy,  in  1770.  In  the  latter  end 
of  this  year  he  formed  a  small  class,  and  appointed  Brother 
Toy  to  lead  it. 

It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Toy's  occupation  was  school-teach- 
ing. After  Cokesbury  college  was  opened,  he  was  teacher 
in  one  department  of  that  institution.  In  1801,  he  became 
an  itinerant  in  the  Baltimore  Conference ;  and,  after  more 
than  twenty  years  spent  in  this  sphere,  he  died  in  Baltimore, 
in  1826,  in  the  blessed  hope  of  immortality,  aged  seventy- 
eight  years. 

Burlington  was  the  first  place  in  New  Jersey  where  Mr. 
Asbury  preached ;  he  preached  in  the  town,  two  weeks  after 
his  landing  in  America,  in  1771.  In  1772,  there  was  a  good 
work  going  on  in  it,  under  the  preaching  of  the  Methodists ; 
it  was  head-quarters,  where  the  preaching  was  mostly  blessed 
to  the  people.  Four,  out  of  the  nine  or  ten  preachers  then 
in  America,  were  laboring  in  this  town  the  same  week.     A 

certain   Dr.  T 1  was  awakened   under   Mr.   Boardman. 

Two  persons  obtained  justification  under  Mr.  Williams's 
preaching;  the  Methodists  were  very  lively  ;  Messrs.  Asbury 
and  King  were  also  there.  Mr.  Asbury  first  mentions  this 
society  in  1773,  and  says,  "  The  little  society  appears  to  be 
in  a  prosperous  state,"  but  he  does  not  tell  us  the  names  of 
any  that  belonged  to  it  then.  Bishop  Asbury,  in  his  Jour- 
nals, vol.  ii.  p.  55,  says,  "  After  there  had  been  Methodist 
preaching  in  Burlington,  for  twenty  years,  they  have  built  a 
very  beautiful  meeting-house."  This  house  was  opened  for 
worship  in  1789.  This  fixes  the  date  of  the  first  preaching, 
in  the  year  1769. 

We  have  been  informed  that  the  Methodist  Society  in 
New  Mills,  now  Pemberton,  claims  priority  in  New  Jersey. 
We  have  never  understood  the  precise  evidence  relied  upon 
to  establish  this  priority.  There  is  little  reason  to  doubt, 
that  it  was  the  strongest  and  most  prosperous  society,  during 
the  first  age  of  Methodism,  in  the  state.  When  Dr.  Coke 
first  visited  this  town,  in  the  early  part  of  1785,  he  remarked 
that  the  "  place  had  been  favored  with  the  faithful  ministry 
(of  the  Methodists)  for  sixteen  years."  From  1785,  sixteen 
years  carries  us  back  to  1769,  which  must  be  fixed  upon  as 
the  true  date  of  Methodist  preaching  in  New  Jersey. 

The  town  of  New  Mills  was  laid  out  by  a  Mr.  Budd ;  and 
Messrs.  John  and  William  Budd  were  pillars  in  the  Methodist 
society  in  this  town.     One  of  them  was  a  local  preacher.    In 


1769.]  IN   AMERICA.  51 

1807,  Mr.  Asbury  says,  "I  found  old  grandfather  Budd 
worshipping,  leaning  upon  the  top  of  his  staff,  halting,  yet 
wrestling  like- Jacob.  Ah  !  we  remember  when  Israel  was  a 
child ;  but  now,  how  goodly  are  thy  tents,  0  Jacob,  and 
thy  tabernacles  (camp-meetings),  0  Israel!"  Many  of  the 
Budds  have  been  in  church-fellowship  with  the  Methodists, 
and  a  fair  proportion  of  them  were  preachers. 

Mr.  Daniel  Heisler  joined  the  Methodists  in  New  Mills, 
in  1773  ;  he  was  leader  of  a  class.  He  moved  to  Maurice's 
river,  where  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  class-leader  and 
steward,  for  twenty-five  years.  He  afterwards  moved  to 
Christiana,  Del.,  where  he  was  a  leading  man  among  the 
Methodists.  After  he  had  been  a  Methodist  fifty-four  years, 
thirty  of  which  he  professed  and  exemplified  sanctification, 
he  died  in  his  seventy- fourth  year,  and  was  buried  at  Newark, 
in  New  Castle  county. 

Catharine,  daughter  of  Mr.  Ezekiel  Johnson,  was  the  first 
white  child  born  in  New  Mills.  She  was  one  of  the  first 
Methodists,  in  the  place.  She  married  William  Danley,  a 
local  preacher,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  member  of  the 
same  society.  They  moved  to  Port  Elizabeth.  Losing  her 
husband,  she  married  Mr.  Ketchum,  and  after  his  death  Mr. 
Long.  After  she  had  sojourned  with  the  Methodists  sixty 
years,  she  departed  tliis  life,  in  her  eighty-third  year. 

In  April,  1773,  the  foundation  was  laid  of  the  first  Metho- 
dist chapel  in  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Asbury  does  not  tell  us 
where  it  was,  but  we  think  it  was  Bethel,  between  Carpen- 
ter's Landing  and  Woodbury ;  he  says  it  was  thirty  by  thirty- 
five  feet.  Vol.  i.,  p.  48.  It  was  not  the  New  Mills  House, 
which  many  suppose  was  the  first  meeting-house  founded  by 
them  in  the  province  ;  and,  which  he  describes,  vol.  i.,  p.  136, 
as  being  twenty-eight  by  thirty-six  feet. 

He  says,  "  At  New  Mills  I  found  Brother  W.,  very  busy 
about  his  chapel,  which  is  thirty-six  feet  by  twenty-eight, 
with  a  gallery  fifteen  feet  deep.  I  preached  in  it,  from 
Matt.  vii.  7,  with  fervor,  but  not  with  freedom,  and  returned 
to  W.  B."  (most  likely  William  Budd).  "Lord's  day  (May 
5,  1776),  I  preached  at  New  Mills  again,  and  it  was  a  heart- 
affecting  season."  Mr.  Asbury  did  not  visit  this  region 
again  for  five  years,  when,  in  1781,  the  fame  of  Benjamin 
Abbott,  who  had  just  made  his  famous  preaching  tour  in 
Pennsylvania,  led  him  into  New  Jersey,  to  see  and  hear  this 
wonderful  preacher.     Vol.  i.,  p.  325. 

From  the  above  we  see   that  the  New  Mills  house  was 


52  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [17G9. 

opened  for  worship  about  177G.  It  was  the  second  chapel 
founded  in  the  state  by  the  Methodists,  about  1774  or  1775. 

Trenton  was  founded  in  1719,  forty-two  years  after  Bur- 
lington, by  William  Trent,  who  had  previously  been  a  citizen 
of  Philadelphia.  About  1700  he  purchased  the  famous 
"slate-roofed  house,"  as  it  was  then  called,  which  had  been 
built  by  Samuel  Carpenter,  whose  descendants  are  found 
about  Salem,  in  New  Jersey.  He  was  the  greatest  improver 
of  Philadelphia,  in  its  incipiency,  that  lived  in  it.  This 
house,  now  the  only  relic  of  the  time  in  which  it  was  erected, 
^.  e.,  about  1690,  stands  on  the  south-east  corner  of  Second 
street  and  Norris's  alley.  No  one  should  attempt  to  separate 
its  bricks  and  mortar,  which  have  adhered  together  for  more 
than  one  hundred  and  seventy  years ;  in  it  "William  Penn 
lived,  on  his  second  and  last  visit  to  Pennsylvania ;  his  son 
John,  the  only  one  of  his  children  born  in  America,  was 
born  in  it.  Lord  Cornbury,  Queen  Anne's  cousin,  and 
governor  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  sojourned  in  it. 
Governor  Hamilton  lived  in  it.  General  Forbes  and  General 
Lee,  who  was  such  a  churchman  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
buried  near  Presbyterian  dead,  were  both  buried  from  this 
house ;  and  John  Adams,  when  attending  Congress  in  this 
city,  boarded  in  it ;  and,  yet,  how  few  of  the  many  hundreds 
who  daily  pass  by  this  house  think  of  the  reminiscences  con- 
nected with  it,  or  stop  to  glance  the  eye  towards  its  antique 
appearance. 

Captain  Webb,  it  is  most  likely,  preached  in  Trenton  in 
1769.  There  was  a  Mr.  Singer,  an  Englishman,  as  we  have 
been  informed,  with  whom  Captain  Webb  was  acquainted, 
who  entertained  him  on  his  first  visit  to  this  town  ;  and  be- 
came a  Methodist.  He  and  Conrad  Cotts,  who  was  the  first 
Methodist  class-leader  in  Trenton,  were  chief  men  in  the 
society,  in  the  beginning.  It  seems  highly  probable  that 
societies  were  formed  by  Mr.  Webb  in  Burlington,  New 
Mills,  and  Trenton,  about  the  same  time — namely,  in  1770 
or  1771. 

The  first  Methodist  society  mentioned  by  Mr.  Asbury, 
as  being  in  Jersey,  was  the  Trenton  society.  Under  date 
of  July  22,  1772,  he  says,  "  In  meeting  the  small  society 
of  about  nineteen  persons,  I  gave  them  tickets,  and  found  it 
a  comfortable  time.  They  are  a  serious  people ;  and  there 
is  some  prospect  of  much  good  being  done  in  this  place." 
"  Asbui-y's  Journals,"  vol.  i.,  p.  21. 

Mrs.  Hughlett  Hancock  was  received  by  Mr.  Asbury 
into  ilie  Methodist  society,  in   the  latter  part  of  1771  or 


1769.]  IN    AMERICA.  53 

early  in  1772.  She  was  probably  considered  a  member  at 
Trenton  at  first.  Mr.  Hancock's  became  a  home  for  the 
preachers.    She  was  alive  in  1802,  and  warm  in  her  first  love. 

This  reception  of  Mrs.  Hancock  by  Mr.  Asbury,  it  ap- 
pears, was  as  Mr.  Asbury  was  going  from  Philadelphia  to 
New  York,  in  the  latter  end  of  1771. 

The  Methodists  of  Trenton,  after  holding  their  meetings 
for  a  few  years  in  the  court-house,  school-houses,  and  private 
houses,  provided  an  humble  place  for  them  to  worship  in. 
When  Benjamin  Abbott  first  preached  in  Trenton,  which  was 
about  1777  or  1778,  he  says,  on  page  58  of  his  Life:  "I 
went  to  Trenton,  and  our  meeting-house  being  turned  into  a 
stable  by  the  army,  they  gave  me  leave  to  preach  in  the 
Presbyterian  meeting-house."  Probably  it  was  about  1777 
that  this  Methodist  meeting-house  was  provided  for  the 
Trenton  society. 

About  the  same  time  that  Captain  Webb  established 
preaching  in  Burlington,  New  Mills,  and  Trenton,  Mr.  Jesse 
Chew's  house,  near  Carpenter's  Landing,  became  another 
appointment  for  preaching. 

Mr.  Thomas  Taper  lived  not  far  from  Mr.  Chew  ;  his  house 
also  became  a  place  for  the  Methodists  to  preach  in.  He 
was  the  father-in-law  of  John  Firth,  the  compiler  of  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott's  life.  In  the  society  which  was 
raised  up  about  this  time  in  this  region,  Messrs.  Chew  and 
Taper  were  chief  men.  The  old  Methodist  chapel  called 
"Bethel,"  which  we  have  supposed  was  founded  in  1773, 
and  the  first  in  Jersey,  was  in  their  neighborhood.  Thomas 
and  Margaret  Taper  entertained  Bishop  Asbury  in  1806, — 
they  had  then  been  feeding  the  Lord's  prophets  nearly  forty 
years. 

Many  anecdotes  have  been  related  by  the  Methodist 
preachers  and  people  concerning  Jesse  Chew,  and  we  hope 
to  be  excused  for  converting  one  of  the  best  of  them  into 
history.  Father  Chew,  like  many  Methodists  during  the 
revolutionary  war,  was  conscientiously  against  bearing  arms, 
and,  on  that  account,  was  regarded  as  an  enemy  to  his  coun- 
try. An  attempt  was  made  to  confiscate  his  estate.  He 
was  brought  into  court  where  the  judges  were  sitting  with 
powdered  locks.  When  his  name  was  called  he  stepped  up, 
looking  them  in  the  face,  and  taking  the  initiative,  inquired 
of  them:  '"Were  ever  your  souls  converted  as  it  were?" 
The  judges  were  taken  by  surprise,  and,  being  unprepared 
to  answer  the  question  aflSrmatively,  could  only  murmur : 
"What  does  the  man  mean  ?"  He  reiterated  :  "  I  say,  were 
5* 


64  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1769. 

ever  your  souls  converted  as  it  were?"  The  judges' reply 
was :  "  Surely  the  man  is  insane  1"  He  ended  by  saying, 
emphatically :  "  I  say,  unless  your  souls  are  converted  as  it 
were,  you  will  go  to  hell  with  all  your  pretty  white  locks  I" 
The  judges  ordered  him  to  be  taken  out  of  court  as  a  de- 
mented person,  and  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  his  estate  to 
a  good  old  age.  He  used  to  say  he  could  exhort  right  well, 
only  his  "  exhortation  all  turned  to  prayer  as  it  were  !" 

The  most  remarkable  conversion  that  took  place  in  1772 
in  Jersey,  or  in  America,  and  perhaps  we  might  say  in  the 
world,  was  Benjamin  Abbott's.  He  was  awakened  under 
the  preaching  of  Abraham  Whitworth  in  September,  and,  on 
the  morning  of  the  12th  of  October  of  this  year  found  peace, 
We  say  his  was  a  remarkable  conversion,  because  he  had  been 
a  great  sinner,  and  became  a  great  Christian,  and  his  labors, 
as  a  preacher,  produced  a  most  singular  effect  in  Jersey,  and 
in  other  places. 

In  1773,  a  society  was  raised  up  near  Pittsgrove,  in  Salem 
county,  N.  J.  Mr.  Abbott  was  made  leader  over  it.  About 
the  month  of  February  of  this  year,  he  united  with  the 
Methodists,  after  he  had  been  fighting  against  God  for  several 
months,  trying  to  join  either  the  Baptists,  or  Presbyterians, 
but  could  not  subscribe  to  their  creed.  In  the  course  of  this 
year,  his  Avife  was  awakened  under  Philip  Gatch's  preaching 
and  soon  after,  six  of  their  children  were  converted. 

This  family,  with  John  Murphy  and  some  others,  formed 
the  society. 

Mrs.  Susanna  Ayars  was  the  first  that  received  the  "  Lord's 
prophets"  in  the  town  of  Pittsgrove:  she  joined  about  this 
time,  and  her  children  followed  her  example.  Not  far  from 
Pittsgrove  lived  Mr.  Early,  who  became  a  Methodist  at  this 
time.  His  son  William  Early  was  a  travelling  preacher  ;  and 
his  descendants  have  generally  cleaved  to  the  Methodists — 
he  died  in  1828,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years. 

In  1773  Methodist  preaching  was  introduced  into  Mount 
Holly  and  Lumberton.  It  was  some  time  after,  when  a  small 
society  was  united  together  in  Mount  Holly ;  and,  it  appears 
to  have  been  an  age  before  there  was  a  Methodist  meeting- 
house in  the  place.  The  preachers  sometimes  had  the  use 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  which  Mr.  John  Brainard, 
brother  to  the  devoted  David  Brainard,  the  Indian  missionary, 
preached.  At  other  times  they  preached  in  the  Baptist 
meeting-house,  but  most  generally  in  private  houses.  We 
cannot  say  when  a  Methodist  society  was  formed  in  Lumber- 


1769.]  IN   AMERICA.  55 

ton.  After  forty  years'  labor,  the  Methodists  had  a  house 
for  worship  in  this  place. 

At  this  time  the  Methodists  preached  at  Trenton,  Burling- 
ton, New  Mills,  Mount  Holly,  Luroberton,  Jesse  Chew's, 
Thomas  Taper's,  Joseph  Thome's,  at  Haddonfield,  Glou- 
cester Point,  Mr.  Turner's  (Robert  Turner,  as  we  shall  see, 
became  a  local  preacher),  at  Mr.  Price's,  Isaac  Jenkins's, 
near  Mantua  Creek,  Benjamin  Abbott's,  Pittsgrove,  Green- 
wich, and  Deerfield.  There  may  have  been  a  few  more 
preaching  places  which  we  cannot  name. 

Mr.  Hugh  Smith  joined  the  society  of  which  Mr.  Abbott 
was  leader,  about  1775  or  1776.  After  some  years  spent  in 
serving  God  in  Jersey  among  the  Methodists,  he  came  to 
Philadelphia,  where  he  ended  his  days.  He  was  a  leading 
man  at  St.  George's.  Bishop  Scott's  wife  is  a  granddaughter 
of  his. 

In  placing  before  the  reader  such  names  as  Budd,  Han- 
cock, Heisler,  Singer,  Cotts,  Chew,  Taper,  Toy,  Thorne, 
Turner,  Johnson,  Jenkins,  Early,  Ayars,  Murphy,  Price, 
Smith,  and  Abbott,  he  will  at  once  see  who  were  the  first 
friends  and  zealous  supporters  of  Methodism  in  New  Jersey, 
in  days  when  to  be  a  Methodist  was  to  be  regarded  as  "  the 
filth  and  off-scouring  of  all  things." 

There  were  now  Methodist  societies  in  Trenton,  Burling- 
ton, New  Mills,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bethel,  between  Car- 
penter's Landing  and  Swedesborough,  and  about  Pittsgrove. 
Possibly  there  were  a  few  more  very  small  societies,  making 
the  number  eight  or  ten.  The  preachers  had  not  preached 
half-way  to  the  Atlantic  in  West  Jersey,  while  in  East  Jer- 
sey they  had  very  little  footing — they  reported  the  number 
of  Methodists  in  Jersey,  at  the  first  Conference  in  1773,  to 
be  two  hundred. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


While  Captain  Webb  was  planting  Methodism  in  Phila- 
delphia, it  appears  that  he  visited  the  upper  end  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Delaware  to  see  if  the  people  of  New  Castle  county 
were  ready  to  receive  Methodism.  Bishop  Asbury  dedicated 
the  first  Methodist  chapel  in  Wilmington  (which  was  called 
after  him),  on  the  16th  of  October,  1789;  and  says  in  his 
Journal,   "  Thus  far  are  we  come,  after  more  than  twenty 


56  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1769. 

years'  labour  in  this  place."  As  Methodist  preachers  had 
been  laboring  in  Wilmington  for  more  than  twenty  years 
from  the  above  date,  it  reaches  back  to  a  period  in  the  history 
of  Methodism  when  there  were  no  preachers  in  the  county 
save  Messrs.  Strawbridge,  Embury,  and  Webb.  Messrs. 
Strawbridge  and  Embury,  on  account  of  family  circum- 
stances, could  not  be  much  or  far  from  home.  It  was  other- 
wise with  Captain  Webb,  who  was  a  pensioned  officer  in  the 
British  army,  and  had  the  means  to  travel  about  and  preach  ; 
and,  as  the  date  of  Methodist  preaching  in  Wilmington,  as 
fixed  by  Mr.  Asbury,  is  synchronal  with  the  rise  of  Metho- 
dism in  Philadelphia  in  1769,  under  the  preaching  of  Mr. 
Webb,  we,  therefore,  conclude  that  he  was  the  apostle  of 
Methodism  in  Delaware,  as  well  as  in  New  Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania. It  has  not  been  many  years  since  that  individuals 
were  living  in  Wilmington,  who  could  remember  that  they 
had  heard  him  preach  in  the  woods  in  the  north  end  of  the 
town,  on  the  Brandywine,  as  well  as  in  other  places.  It  is, 
therefore,  apparent  that  Captain  Webb  was  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  that  preached  in  Wilmington,  New  Castle,  and  other 
places  in  the  same  region,  and  that,  too,  as  early  as  1769. 

Mr.  Robert  Furness,  who  kept  a  public-house  in  New 
Castle,  was  the  first  that  received  the  preachers  and  the 
preaching  into  his  house  in  this  town.  By  joining  the  Me- 
thodists, he  lost  his  custom  ;  and,  as  the  court-house,  w^hich 
was  open  for  balls,  was  closed  against  Methodist  preachers, 
they  preached  in  his  tavern.  At  this  time  there  was  rather 
more  promise  of  success  to  the  cause,  in  Newcastle,  than  in 
Wilmington.  Here  one  of  the  first  Methodist  societies  in 
Delaware  was  formed,  if  not  the  very  first.  The  first  society 
perished ;  and  Methodism  had  to  be  begun  a  second,  if  not 
a  third  time,  in  New  Castle.  In  1819  and  1820,  the  Rev. 
J.  Rusling  was  stationed  in  Wilmington ;  he  extended  his 
labors  to  this  town,  and  either  raised  up  a  society,  or 
strengthened  a  feeble  one,  and  erected  a  brick  church  in  the 
place.  Since  then,  the  society  has  continued ;  but  New 
Castle  has  never  been  very  favorable  to  Methodism. 

Mr.  J.  Stedham  was  the  first  friend  the  Methodists  had  in 
Wilmington ;  he  received  the  preachers,  and  had  preaching 
in  his  house,  it  seems,  for  several  years ;  and  his  family,  it 
appears,  was  the  first  Methodist  family  in  the  town.  Captain 
Webb,  as  a  declaimer,  was  little  inferior  to  Mr.  Whitefield ; 
and,  from  his  first  visits  to  Wilmington,  there  were  a  few 
souls  awakened  who  were  sincerely  seeking  the  Lord.  For 
several  years  the  Methodists  in  this  town  held  their  meetings 


1769.]  IN    AMERICA.  57 

in  private  houses.  There  is  a  small  brick  building  on  the 
corner  of  Third  and  King  streets,  in  which,  it  is  said,  they 
worshipped  before  Asbury  Church  was  built.  For  a  long 
time  Wilmington  was  hostile  to  Methodism. 

From  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ware's  Life  we  learn  the  state  of 
things  in  this  place  in  1791 :  "  This  borough  was  infected 
with  mystical  miasm,  which  had  a  deleterious  effect,  especi- 
ally on  the  youth.  They  had  imbibed  this  moral  poison 
until  it  broke  out  in  supercilious  contempt  of  all  who  were 
by  one  class  denounced  as  hirelings  and  will-worshippers,  and 
by  another  as  free-willers  and  perfectionists.  Our  church 
was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  these  sons  of  Belial,  night 
after  night,  while  there  were  scarcely  fifty  worshippers  ;  such 
was  their  conduct,  that  females  were  afraid  to  attend  our 
meetings  at  night ;  and  we  had  to  commence  service  in  time 
to  dismiss  the  congregation  before  it  was  dark." 

Mr.  Isaac  Tussey  lived  at  Shell-pot  Hill ;  he  was  cousin  to 
Mr.  Stedham,  and  received  and  entertained  the  preachers 
from  the  beginning,  and  lived  and  died  a  Methodist. 

As  early  as  1771,  Mr.  Isaac  Hersey,  who  lived  west  of 
Christiana,  opened  his  house  to  the  preachers.  Here  a 
society  was  raised  up,  and  afterwards  a  church  called  Salem 
was  built,  about  1809 ;  these  are  the  oldest  appointments  in 
Delaware  state. 

The  Tusseys,  Websters,  Fords,  and  Clouds,  were  the  first 
Methodists  in  Brandywine  Hundred,  in  the  upper  end 
of  New  Castle  county,  Del.  Mr.  Tussey  lived  on  the 
Delaware  river,  at  Shell-pot  Hill.  Mr.  Thomas  Webster 
lived  some  two  miles  north  of  Wilmington.  Mr.  David 
Ford,  and  the  Clouds,  from  which  family  Robert  and  Adam 
Cloud,  two  of  the  early  itinerants,  came,  lived  some  six.  miles 
north  of  Wilmington.  David  Ford  was  born  about  1750  or 
1751.  When  eighteen  years  old,  he  went  to  Marcus  Hook, 
on  the  Delaware  river,  with  a  load  of  ship-timber,  at  which 
time  he  heard  Captain  Webb  preach  in  his  regimentals,  which, 
to  him,  was  a  great  novelty,  as  he  had  been  raised  a  Friend. 
This  was  as  early  as  1768  or  1769.  Soon  after  Webb  began 
to  visit  Pennsylvania.  Friend  Ford  joined  the  Methodists 
soon  after,  while  he  was  a  single  man.  W^hen  he  married, 
he  had  Methodist  preaching  in  his  house.  In  his  house  Mr. 
Abbott  preached  in  1780,  when  he  preached  at  "  D.  F." 
See  his  Life,  p.  112.  Some  of  the  above  facts  are  fresh 
from  his  son,  the  Rev.  Jesse  Ford,  who  is,  and  has  long  been, 
a  useful  preacher  among  us,  and  now  belongs  to  the  Broad 
St.  Church,  Philadelphia. 


58  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1769. 

A  society  was  raised  up  in  the  neighborhood  of  David 
Ford's,  between  1775  and  1778  ;  and  in  1780,  Cloud's  Chapel 
was  opened  in  this  neighbourhood  ;  and  in  1808  it  was  sub- 
stituted by  a  stone  chapel,  called  Bethel. 

It  was  a  custom,  in  "  olden  times,"  to  have  every  year  a 
watermelon  fair  at  the  Practical  Farmer  or  at  Marcus  Hook. 
To  this  fair  the  Jersey  people  brought  their  watermelons, 
and  the  Pennsylvanians  bought  them,  and  in  return,  sold 
them  rum,  tobacco,  &c.  The  fair  generally  lasted  three 
days,  and  was  a  scene  of  dissipation,  steeping  the  souls  of 
the  multitude  in  sin.  Once,  when  it  was  held  at  the  Hook, 
the  Rev.  Robert  Cann,  an  early  itinerant,  came  along,  and 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  preach  to  the  people  from  a 
balcony,  from  Job  xxi.  3 :  "  Suffer  me  that  I  may  speak ; 
and  after  that  I  have  spoken,  mock  on."  What  disposition 
was  found  with  the  assembly  to  mock  the  preacher  or  the  ser- 
mon, we  cannot  tell ;  but  public  opinion  has  so  changed  that 
these  fairs  have  been  discontinued  for  many  years. 

The  first  Methodist  preacher  that  labored  at  AVilmington, 
and  New  Castle,  was  Captain  "Webb.  After  him,  in  1770, 
came  John  King.  Then  followed,  Robert  Williams,  Richard 
Boardman,  Joseph  Pilmoor,  Richard  Wright,  and  Francis 
Asbury,  who  in  passing  from  Philadelphia  to  Maryland, 
took  these  places  eii  route,  preaching  to  the  people  "  Jesus 
and  the  resurrection." 

Mr.  Isaac  Hersey,  beyond  Christiana,  who  was  an  early 
Methodist,  *'  of  the  old  stamp  and  steady,"  is  still  repre- 
sented by  his  son  John  Hersey,  who  is  extensively  known 
for  his  plainness,  simplicity,  and  zealous  preaching  of  pure 
Christianity,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  United  States, — north 
and  south. 

Cloud's  Chapel  received  its  name  from  the  Cloud  family 
that  settled  in  the  upper  end  of  Delaware,  near  the  line  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  Colonial  Records,  vol.  i.,  p.  222,  we 
find  an  account  of  William  Cloud  buying  of  William  Penn, 
in  England,  five  hundred  acres  of  land.  This  land  was 
located  so  near  the  line  dividing  New  Castle  and  Chester 
counties,  that  the  proprietor  was  called  upon  to  pay  tax  in 
both  counties. 

Several  of  this  family  became  Methodists,  when  Metho- 
dism was  introduced  into  their  neighborhood.  Robert, 
and  Adam  Cloud,  who  were  brothers,  were  of  this  family, 
and  both  of  them  were  travelling  preachers  part  of  their  life. 
Robert  was  among  the  first  preachers  from  Delaware. 
Several  others  of  them  were  in  connection  with  the  Metho- 


1769.]  IN   AMERICA.  59 

dists ;  and,  even  at  the  present  time,  some  of  this  name  and 
family  may  be  found  among  the  Methodists, — some  east  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountain,  and  some  west  of  it. 

From  the  foregoing,  it  is  seen  that  the  first  Methodist 
society  in  the  present  state  of  Delaware,  was  formed  at  New 
Castle  as  early  as  1770,  that  it  was  about  fifty  years  before 
the  Methodists  had  a  place  of  worship  in  this  ancient  town ; 
and,  even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  ninety  years,  the  town  is 
still  small,  and  the  Methodist  society  and  congregation  are 
small. 

The  commencement  of  Methodism  in  Wilmington  was  less 
encouraging  than  in  New  Castle.  It  was  twenty  years  before 
the  first  Asbury  Church  was  built,  which  has  been  twice 
enlarged  and  improved  to  bring  it  to  its  present  condition. 
The  first  church  was  erected  the  same  year  that  the  Burling- 
ton Methodists  opened  their  first  church.  In  the  same  year 
(1789),  the  second  place  of  worship  for  the  Methodists  of 
New  York,  called  "Forsyth"  now, — was  put  up.  The  people 
of  Southwark,  in  Philadelphia,  were  also  moving  in  the 
erection  of  Old  Ebenezer. 

After  Methodism  had  struggled  in  Wilmington  for  two 
ages,  it  began  to  be  better  known,  and  received  more  atten- 
tion from  the  citizens  generally.  A  second  church,  called 
St.  Paul's,  with  pews,  was  built  in  1845.  Union,  the  third 
church,  was  established  in  1850-1.  The  fourth,  called  Scott 
Church,  was  began  about  the  same  time.  With  the  growth 
of  Wilmington  Methodism  has  grown.  The  city  now  has 
nearly  twenty  thousand  people.  Its  Methodist  churches 
are  Asbury,  St.  Paul's,  Union,  Scott  Church,  Brandywine, 
Mount  Salem,  and  Ezion,  for  people  of  color.  The  number 
of  white  Methodists  connected  with  these  churches  are  about 
fifteen  hundred,  over  whom  there  are  six  pastors  stationed. 

The  Philadelphia  Conference  has  held  five  sessions  in 
Wilmington,  the  first  in  1832,  the  second  in  1838,  the  third 
in  1842,  the  fourth  in  1847,  and  the  fifth  in  1857. 

Captain  Webb  having  introduced  Methodism  into  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey,  and  Delaware,  in  1772  he  went  to 
Europe.  At  this  time  Mr.  Wesley,  writing  to  Mrs.  Bennis, 
(she  has  relations  of  the  same  name  in  Philadelphia,  who 
are  Methodists),  says,  "  Captain  Webb  is  now  in  Dublin ; 
invite  him  to  Limerick  ;  he  is  a  man  of  fire,  and  the  power 
of  God  constantly  attends  his  word."  During  this  year  he 
was  in  London,  and  preached  in  the  foundry  where  Mr. 
Wesley  heard  him,  and  observes  in  his  Journal,  "I  admire 
the  wisdom  of  God  in  raising  up  preachers  according  to  the 


60  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1769. 

various  tastes  of  men.  The  Captain  is  all  life  and  fire, 
therefore,  although  he  is  not  deep  or  regular,  yet  many  "who 
would  not  hear  a  better  preacher,  flock  together  to  hear  him, 
and  many  are  convinced  under  his  preaching;  some  justified, 
a  few  built  up  in  love."  While  in  England  he  endeavored 
to  enlist  such  men  as  Messrs.  Hopper  and  Benson  to  come 
to  America.  It  seems  that  he  had  informed  these  brethren, 
that  he  was  divinely  impressed  that  they  had  a  call  to  this 
country,  which  led  Mr.  C.  Wesley,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Joseph 
Benson,  to  say,  "  His  impressions  are  very  little  more  to  be 
depended  upon  than  George  Bell's.  He  is  an  inexperienced 
honest,  zealous,  loving  enthusiast."  Mr.  C.  Wesley  thought 
him  an  enthusiast,  because  he  supposed  that  he  laid  too 
much  stress  on  his  impressions  as  coming  from  Grod. 

The  Captain  and  his  wife  came  back  to  America,  in  the 
spring  of  1773,  in  company  with  Messrs.  Rankin,  Shadford, 
and  Yearbry,  and  continued  to  preach  from  New  York  to 
Baltimore,  where  in  1774,  he  officiated  in  the  first  Methodist 
chapel  that  was  erected  there  in  Lovely  Lane,  then  in  an 
unfinished  state. 

In  1774,  when  John  Adams  of  Massachusetts  was  attend- 
ing the  Continental  Congress  in  Philadelphia,  he  heard  Mr. 
Webb  preach  in  St.  George's,  and  has  left  the  following 
description  of  him  as  a  public  speaker.  "  In  the  evening  I 
went  to  the  Methodist  meeting  and  heard  Mr.  Webb,  the  old 
soldier,  who  first  came  to  America  in  the  character  of  a 
quartermaster,  under  General  Braddock.  He  is  one  of  the 
most  fluent,  eloquent  men  I  ever  heard ;  he  reaches  the 
imagination,  and  touches  the  passions  very  well,  and  expresses 
himself  with  great  propriety." 

To  recapitulate, — the  field  of  Captain  Webb's  labors  in 
America  consisted  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  and  Maryland.  His  first  efl"orts  in  favor  of  Metho- 
dism were  in  Albany,  next  in  New  York  and  on  Long  Island, 
— afterwards  in  Philadelphia  and  the  adjacent  country, — 
then  in  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  as  far  south 
as  Baltimore  and  St.  Luke's  parish  in  Queen  Anne's  county, 
where  he  was  preaching  at  a  quarterly  meeting  held  at  Fog- 
well's,  or  Dudley's,  near  Sudlersville,  in  1775.  See  Memoirs 
of  Gatch,  pp.  42-3.  This  was  just  before  his  final  departure 
for  England.  Mr.  Asbury  in  his  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  213, 
speaks  of  a  young  woman  who  was  awakened  under  Captain 
Webb,  probably  about  the  time  of  this  visit  to  Queen  Anne's, 
who  obtained  the  comforts  of  religion  in  1778  in  the  region 


1769.]  IN    AMERICA.  61 

of  Judge  White's — from  St.  Luke's  parish  to  Mr.  White's 
was  about  tliirty  miles. 

In  1775  the  colonists  took  up  arms  against  England,  and 
Captain  Webb  returned  to  his  native  land,  where  he  ended 
his  days,  doing  all  the  good  he  could.  The  last  time  that 
Mr.  Wesley  notices  him  in  his  Journal  was  in  1785.  He 
says:  "I  preached  at  Salisbury;  as  Captain  Webb  had  lately 
been  there,  I  endeavored  to  avail  myself  of  the  fire  which 
he  seldom  fails  to  kindle." 

The  Rev.  Peter  Vanest,  late  of  the  New  Jersey  Confer- 
ence, informed  us  that  during  the  war  that  secured  our  inde- 
pendence, he  became  a  privateer,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  English,  who  carried  him  to  Ireland,  and  from  thence  to 
England  about  1784.  It  was  here  that  he  embraced  religion, 
and  became  a  member  of  the  Methodist  society  in  Bristol, 
where  he  was  personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Wesley,  and 
where  he  became  a  class-leader  and  public  speaker.  While 
here  he  also  knew  Captain  Webb,  who  then  resided  in  Port- 
land, on  the  heights  of  Bristol — that  he  built  a  Methodist 
chapel  there  with  his  own  means — the  Rev.  Henry  Moore 
laid  the  corner-stone,  and  the  gentry  of  the  place  put  a 
cupola  on  it,  and  in  the  cupola  a  bell,  the  first  that  ever 
Brother  Vanest  saw  devoted  to  such  a  purpose. 

Captain  Webb's  death  was  sudden,  but  not  unexpected  to 
him ;  for  he  had  a  presentiment  that  his  end  was  near,  and 
had  given  directions  concerning  the  place  and  manner  of  his 
interment,  adding,  "  I  should  prefer  a  triumphant  death,  but 
I  may  be  taken  away  suddenly  ;  however,  I  know  I  am  happy 
in  the  Lord,  and  shall  be  with  him,  and  that  is  enough." 
After  supping  and  praying  with  his  family,  on  the  evening 
of  December  20,  1796,  he  retired  to  bed  apparently  well. 
Soon  be  began  to  breathe  with  diflSculty.  He  arose  and  sat 
up,  his  wife  standing  by  him,  but  soon  fell  back  on  the  bed, 
and  expired  before  any  person  could  be  brought  into  the 
room.  He  died  without  a  struggle  or  groan.  He  was  about 
seventy-two  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Webb  was  buried  at  Portland  Chapel,  which  he  had 
erected,  in  Bristol.  In  the  chapel  there  is  a  tablet  with  his 
name  inscribed  upon  it. 

It  appears  that  Captain  Webb  was  in  the  habit  of  using 
the  Greek  Testament.  Before  he  left  America  he  gave  his 
Greek  Testament  to  the  Rev.  William  Duke.  Mr.  Duke 
presented  it  to  the  Rev.  John  Bishop  Hagany,  who  gave  it 
to  Bishop  Scott,  who  now  has  this  relic  of  the  man  who 
6 


62  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1769. 

planted  Methodism  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Dela- 
ware. 

"  Captain  Webb  was  twice  married.  He  had  two  sons, 
Gilbert  and  Charles.  They  were  half-brothers.  They  emi- 
grated to  America  after  his  decease,  and  settled  in  Canter- 
bury, Orange  county,  N.  Y.  Charles  was  a  Quaker  and  a 
preacher,  dressing  and  speaking  in  Quaker  style.  He  always 
professed  great  love  for  the  Methodists.  Gilbert  did  not 
profess  religion.  They  lived  and  died,  and  were  buried  at 
Canterbury.  Some  of  their  descendants  are  still  living 
there."     "Lost  Chapters  of  Methodism,"  p.  153. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


"My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  saith  the  Lord." 
The  Gospel  treasure  is  in  earthen  vessels  that  the  excellency 
of  the  power  may  be  of  God.  The  knowledge  of  God  goes, 
not  from  the  greatest  unto  the  least ;  but,  "  From  the  least 
of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them."  When  Methodism  was 
to  be  introduced  into  this  great  country  no  titled  dignitary  of 
the  visible  Church  was  employed,  but  such  instruments  as  the 
world  calls  "Foolish,  weak,  base,  and  things  which  are  not, 
to  bring  to  naught  things  that  are  ;  that  no  flesh  should  glory 
in  his  pfesence."  Three  lay  preachers,  Strawbridge  the 
farmer,  Embury  the  carpenter,  and  Webb  the  soldier,  had 
this  honor  put  upon  them  by  the  Head  of  the  Church  ;  and 
in  this  way  has  the  Lord  made  them  memorable  among  us  ; 
and,  although  they  acted  under  slender  human  authority, 
they  were  moved  by  Divine  impulse  ;  and,  therefore,  in  the 
order  of  God.  They  had  raised  up  the  societies  of  Pipe 
Creek,  New  York  and  Philadelphia — Wesley  Chapel  was 
built,  if  not  the  Log  Meeting-House  of  Pipe  Creek,  before 
Mr.  Wesley's  first  missionaries  arrived ;  and  whatever  good 
has  resulted  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  mankind  in  America 
from  Methodism,  has  followed  this  beginning. 

The  next  efficient  laborer  that  came  to  America  was  Robert 
Williams :  he  arrived  in  New  York  in  1769.  Mr.  Wesley 
may  refer  to  him  in  his  Journal  for  1766,  when  he  says,  "  At 
Whitehaven  Robert  Williams  preached."  Afterwards  he  went 
to  Ireland,  where  he  is  again  noticed  by  Mr.  Wesley  in  1767, 
"At  Dromore  I  met  Robert  Williams."     "  He  had  engaged 


1769.]  IN    AMERICA.  6S 

to  accompany  a  Mr.  Asliton  to  tliis  country.  Hearing  that 
Mr.  A.  was  embarking  for  America,  Mr.  W.  sold  his  horse 
to  pay  his  debts,  hurried  to  the  place  of  embarkation  with 
his  saddle-bags  on  his  arm,  and  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  a  bottle 
of  milk,  and  entered  on  board  of  the  ship,  depending  on  his 
friend  Ashton  for  support  and  the  payment  of  his  passage." 
Bangs'  "  History  of  the  M.  E.  Church." 

Mr.  Williams  arrived  in  New  York,  in  September  of  this 
year,  if  not  earlier.  He  had  Mr.  Wesley's  permission  to 
preach  in  this  country,  under  the  direction  of  Boardman. 
Soon  as  he  arrived,  he  entered  upon  ministerial  and  pas- 
toral duty  in  Wesley  Chapel.  Brother  Wakeley's  "  Old 
Book,"  shows  what  he  received  from  the  stewards.  The 
first  entry  is : 

September  20th,  1769 — To  cash  paid  Mr.  Jarvis  for  a  hat  for  Mr. 
Williams,  two  pounds  and  five  shilhngs. 
"  22d,      -"       To  cash  for  a  book  for  Mr.  Williams,  nine 

pence. 
October       9th,        "       To  cash  paid  Mr.  Newton  for  three  pair  of 
stockings  for  Messrs.  AVilliams   and  Em- 
bury, thirty-one  shillings  and  nine  pence. 
"  "  Cash  for  a  trunk  for  Mr.  Williams,  twelve 

shillings  and  six  pence. 
"  30th,  Cash  paid  Mr.  Williams  for  his  expenses, 

thirty-six  shillings. 
"  "  Cash  paid  for  a  cloak  for  Mr.  Robert  Wil- 

liams, three  pounds  and  six  pence. 

For  some  two  months'  ministerial  and  pastoral  service,  he 
received  nine  pounds  six  shillings  and  six  pence :  the 
account  shows  the  date  of  his  labors — that  he  was  in  this 
country  two  months  before  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor 
arrived. 

In  1769,  Mr.  Wesley,  in  answer  to  repeated  requests, 
sent  his  first  missionaries  to  this  country.  At  the  conference 
which  met  in  Leeds  this  year,  he  called  for  volunteers  to  go 
to  America  ;  and  was  responded  to  by  Messrs,  Boardman  and 
Pilmoor,  who  landed  at  Gloucester  Point  (now  Gloucester 
City),  October  24,  1769.  Mr.  Richard  Boardman  was  re- 
ceived as  a  travelling  preacher,  in  1763,  and  was  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's assistant,  or  superintendent  over  the  Methodists  in  this 
country  for  three  years.  In  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Wesley,  he  says:  "When  I  came  to  Philadelphia  I  found 
a  little  society,  and  preached  to  a  great  number  of  people." 
In  passing  through  New  Jersey,  he  stayed  one  night  in 
some  place,  which  he  calls  a  "large  town,"  and  preached  in 
a  Presbyterian  meeting-house.     Next  day,  he  arrived  in  New 


64  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1769. 

York ;  and,  after  preaching  in  Wesley  Chapel,  he  wrote  to 
Mr.  Wesley,  under  date  of  November  4,  1769.  Mr.  Board- 
man  being  in  New  York  for  the  winter  of  1769-70,  Mr. 
Williams  left,  and,  it  is  most  likely,  went  through  Jersey : 
that  he  preached  in  New  Jersey,  we  learn  from  Mr.  Abbott's 
Life,  p.  37.  When  Mr.  Abbott  had  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon in  Deerfield,  the  head  man  of  the  mob  said,  he  had  not 
heard  such  preaching  since  Mr.  Williams  left :  there  was 
much  resemblance  between  their  preaching — they  Avere  both 
sons  of  thunder. 

Mr.  Boardman,  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley,  says,  that 
Wesley  Chapel  contained  seventeen  hundred  hearers.  This 
was  part  and  parcel  of  an  old  mistake,  but  too  common 
among  the  Methodists :  we  have  no  doubt  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
overrating  his  congregations  nearly  a  moiety,  when  he  says 
he  preached  to  twenty,  and  twenty-five  thousand  people. 
We  have  never  seen  a  Methodist  preacher,  at  our  largest 
camp-meetings  in  America,  preaching  to  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  thousand  people.  The  largest  churches  which  the 
Methodists  now  have  in  New  York,  will  not  seat  more  people 
than  Wesley  Chapel  was  thought  to  contain — it  would  not 
comfortably  seat  the  half  of  seventeen  hundred  hearers. 

In  1769  or  1770,  Mr.  Boardman's  ministry  in  New  York 
was  instrumental  in  the  conversion  to  God  and  Methodism,  of 
John  Mann,  who  became  a  preacher  among  the  Methodists. 
Mr.  Wakely,  in  "Lost  Chapters,"  informs  his  readers,  that, 
when  the  British  took  possession  of  New  York,  and  the  city 
was  not  supplied  with  preachers  by  Mr.  Wesley's  assistant  in 
America,  Mr.  Mann  preached  for  them  in  Wesley  Chapel, 
until  Samuel  Spragg  relieved  him.  He  was  then  in  the 
character  of  a  local  preacher.  After  the  war  was  over,  he 
went  to  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  suspected  for  being  a  friend  to 
King  George,  and  he,  with  several  other  Methodists,  thought 
it  safest  to  move  to  Nova  Scotia.  Subsequently,  he  came 
to  Philadelphia,  and  was  ordained  by  the  bishops  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

John  Mann  was  born  in  1743,  in  New  York;  and  was 
married  in  1764.  His  mother  was  a  Moravian,  and  be- 
longed to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gamble's  church.  When  her  son 
was  first  awakened,  through  her  influence  he  joined  the  Mora- 
vians ;  as  yet  the  Methodists  were  unknown  in  New  York. 
He  died  in  1816,  aged  seventy-four  years  ;  he  had  preached 
forty-five  years.  This  datum  shows  that  he  began  to  preach 
as  early  as  1770,  or  1771 ;  consequently,  was  among  the 
first  fruits  of  Mr.  Boardman's  ministry  in  New  York.    When 


1769],  IN   AMERICA.  65 

first  among  the  Methodists,  he  was  appointed  to  lead  a  class ; 
and  soon  he  was  authorized  to  preach,  and  exercised  his 
ministry  in  Bloomingdale  and  Long  Island,  as  well  as  in 
New  York. 

His  brother,  James  Mann,  was  a  native  of  New  York, 
and  a  preacher  both  in  New  York  and  Nova  Scotia,  where 
he  was  secretary  of  the  Conference,  and  very  useful  in  the 
ministry. 

Mr.  Joseph  Pilmoor,  on  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  com- 
menced his  ministry  on  the  State  House  steps  in  Chestnut 
street.  Soon  he  went  to  the  commons  near  the  city,  and 
made  a  pulpit  of  the  stage  of  the  judges  of  the  horse-race 
course,  and  preached  to  many  hundreds.  This  was  in  Race 
street,  so  called  because  the  races  were  run  there, — about 
Franklin  Square, — then  commons,  and  quite  out  of  the  city. 

Under  date  of  October  31,  1769,  Mr.  Pilmoor  wrote  to 
Mr.  Wesley  from  Philadelphia,  stating  that  when  he  and 
Mr.  Boardman  arrived,  they  found  Captain  Webb  in  town, 
and  a  society  of  about  a  hundred  members,  which  he  had 
gathered.  This  account  seems  to  conflict  with  Mr.  Board- 
man's  statement  of  a  "small  society."  There  is  some  lack 
of  evidence  that  there  were  about  a  hundred,  who  were,  in 
the  full  and  proper  meaning  of  the  term,  members  of  Metho- 
dist society^  then  in  Philadelphia.  There  might  have  been 
that  number  including  the  real  members  of  society,  and  such 
as  were  meeting  with  them  in  their  society  meetings  as 
frequently  as  they  were  permitted  to  do,  thereby  indicating 
that  they  intended  to  become  members.  The  Rev.  John 
Hood,  who  joined  the  first  class  which  was  formed,  stated  to 
his  friend.  Dr.  Sargent,  that  when  Mr.  Asbury  arrived,  two 
years  after  this  date,  the  number  of  full  members,  in  Phila- 
delphia, was  between  thirty  and  forty. 

Mr.  John  King,  of  London,  came  to  America,  in  the  latter 
end  of  1769,  soon  after  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor 
arrived.  He  was  not  authorized  to  preach  when  he  came ; 
but,  feeling  it  to  be  his  duty,  he  applied  to  Mr.  Pilmoor  for 
permission  to  travel  and  preach,  which  was  not  then  granted. 
Being  persuaded  he  was  called  to  the  work,  he  made  an 
appointment  on  his  own  authority,  to  preach  in  the  Potters- 
field  (now  Washington  Square,  in  Philadelphia).  Some  of 
the  Methodists  that  heard  him  on  that  occasion,  spoke  so 
favorably  to  Mr.  Pilmoor  that  he  granted  him  his  request, 
and  sent  him  to  Wilmington,  Del.,  to  labor  in  that  region. 
There  were  now  seven  Methodist  preachers  in  America. 
6* 


66  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1769-70. 

During  the  year  1770,  Methodism  was  rapidly  on  the 
increase,  considering  the  paucity  of  preachers.  While  the 
prejudiced  refused  to  examine  its  nature,  and  the  bigoted 
condemned  it  on  mere  rumor,  the  more  seriously  disposed 
gave  it  a  hearing,  and  were  convinced  that  it  was  the  religion 
of  the  Bible.  The  convincing  and  renewing  power  of  the. 
Holy  Spirit  attended  their  labors,  and  societies  were  raised 
up  in  several  places.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr. 
Embury  formed  a  small  society  at  Ashgrove.  In  New  York, 
and  in  Philadelphia,  the  societies  were  increasing  under  the 
labors  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

In  April,  1770,  Mr.  Boardman,  having  spent  five  months 
in  New  York,  left   it,  and  came   to  Philadelphia   to   labor. 
He  had  preached  once  in  it  when  he  first  landed  in  America. 
In  the  "  Old  Book,"  there  is  the  following  entry,  showing 
the  time  of  his  coming  to  Philadelphia. 
"  1770,  April  10.— To  cash  paid  Mr.  Boardman, 
to    pay    his    expenses    to 
Philadelphia,  £1.  4s.  OJ." 

("Lost  Chapters,  by  Rev.  J.  B.  Wakely,"  p.  202.) 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Pilmoor  went  to  New  York,  which 
to  him  was  a  new  place,  and  a  new  field  of  labor.  Under 
date  of  May  5,  1770,  Mr.  Pilmoor  wrote  from  New  York 
to  Mr.  Wesley,  one  of  his  glowing  letters,  showing  the  great 
success  and  encouragement  they  had  in  these  two  leading 
cities  of  the  nation. 

From  the  "Old  Book,"  it  appears  that  Robert  Williams 
was  laboring  in  and  about  New  York.  Under  dates  of 
March,  April,  June,  and  July,  1770,  money  was  paid  to  his 
use  for  preaching,  keeping  his  horse,  doctor's  bill,  flannel, 
taking  off  the  beard,  and  letter-postage.  ("  See  Lost  Chap- 
ters," p.  193.) 

This  is  the  first  account  we  meet  with  of  a  well-equipped 
itinerant  Methodist  preacher  in  America.  Robert  Williams 
now  had  a  horse ;  he  was  an  equestrian !  Ah  !  and  his 
beard  was  razored  ;  the  time  for  whiskers  and  moustache,  for 
Methodist  preachers,  was  not  yet. 

By  this  time,  John  King  had  gone  into  Maryland,  and 


1770.]  IN   AMERICA.  67 

was  operating  with  Mr.  Strawbridge.  He  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  of  the  four  preachers  who  came  over  in  1769, 
who  entered  into  the  Maryland  field,  then  the  most  fruitful 
field  cultivated  by  the  Methodists.  On  his  first  visit  to 
Harford  county  this  year,  Henry  Bowman  came  to  hear  him, 
full  of  prejudice  against  the  Methodists.  King  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  a  large  congregation.  Before  he  began  the 
service,  he  put  his  hands  over  his  face  while  he  engaged  in 
silent  prayer.  This  apparently  small  circumstance  was  the 
cause  of  bringing  conviction  to  Bowman's  mind  before  the 
preaching  began ;  he  was  thus  prepared  to  receive  the  truth 
in  the  love  thereof;  he  was  soon  after  converted  under  King's 
ministry,  and  lived  and  died  a  happy  Methodist.  On  Mr. 
King's  first  visit  to  the  Forks  of  Gunpowder,  in  Baltimore 
county,  in  1770,  Mr.  James  J.  Baker  was  awakened  under 
his  powerful  preaching,  and  three  days  after  was  converted. 
With  his  tongue  he  made  confession  of  the  fact  to  his  neigh- 
bors, and  it  was  not  long  before  many  of  them  were  converted. 
He  at  once  united  with  the  Methodists — received  the  preach- 
ers into  his  house — a  respectable  class  was  raised  up  which 
met  in  his  house,  and  of  which  he  was  leader — the  preaching 
was  also  under  his  roof,  until  a  house  of  worship  was  built 
on  his  own  land,  in  1773,  which  was  the  third  Methodist 
chapel  founded  in  Maryland.  This  saint  ended  his  days  in 
Baltimore,  in  1835,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one  years,  having 
adorned  Methodism  for  sixty-four  years. 

In  the  same  region,  and  about  this  time,  Mr.  Joseph 
Presbury  was  also  converted.  He,  too,  was  a  very  promi- 
nent Methodist  at  that  early  day.  Preaching  and  quarterly 
meetings  were  held  at  his  house,  where,  also,  a  society  was 
formed,  in  which  he  was  an  ofiicial  member.  He  was  present 
and  officiating,  by  giving  out  the  hymn,  "  Give  to  the  winds 
thy  fears,"  and  offering  up  prayer  when  William  Watters 
Avas  justified. 

In  1770,  John  King  introduced  Methodist  preaching  into 
Baltimore.  Mr.  Strawbridge  had  preached  in  the  country 
not  very  far  from  Baltimore ;  but  it  was  the  indomitable 
and  enterprising  King  who  first  thrcAV  the  banners  of  Method- 
ism to  the  people  of  Baltimore.  He  had  for  his  pulpit  a 
blacksmith's  block,  at  the  junction  of  Front  and  French 
streets.  Mr.  James  Baker,  deputy-surveyor  of  the  county, 
was  awakened ;  and,  soon  after  converted,  and  added  to  the 
Methodists.  Thus,  King  had  one  seal  under  his  first  effort 
in  Baltimore. 

Mr.  King  next  took  his  stand  at  the  corner  of  Baltimore 


QS  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1770. 

and  Calvert  streets ;  this  time  he  had  a  table  for  his  pulpit. 
It  being  a  general  training  day  of  the  militia,  many  of  whom 
were  intoxicated, — this  drunken  rabble,  being  among  the 
congregation,  took  it  into  their  heads  to  annoy  the  preacher, 
and  upset  the  table,  and  landed  the  speaker  on  the  ground. 
The  captain  of  the  company  being  an  Englishman,  and 
seeinc^  that  the  preacher  was  of  the  same  nation,  saved  him 
from  any  further  insult  or  injury  from  the  people. 

By  this  time  Mr.  King's  preaching  had  made  such  a 
favorable  impression  on  the  better  and  more  religious  part 
of  the  people  of  Baltimore,  that  he  was  invited  to  preach  in 
St.  Paul's  Church,  then  the  Church  of  England.  He  was 
not,  however,  permitted  to  preach  in  it  a  second  time. 

This  same  year  Mr.  Pilmoor  paid  his  first  visit  to  Mary- 
land, and  preached  to  the  people  of  Baltimore  as  they  came 
out  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  having  the  sidewalk  for  his  pulpit. 
He,  nevertheless,  made  a  very  favorable  impression  on  many 
of  his  hearers. 

Soon  after,  Mr.  Boardman  was  for  the  first  time  in  Mary- 
land, and  preached  in  Baltimore. 

For  the  above  account  of  the  introduction  of  Methodism 
into  Baltimore,  we  acknowledge  ourselves  indebted  to  the 
Rev.  William  Hamilton  of  Baltimore. 

In  1770,  Mr.  Robert  Williams,  as  it  appears,  first  went  to 
labor  in  Maryland.  In  July,  1770,  Mr.  William  Watters 
first  heard  the  Methodists  preach,  and  his  brother  John  joined 
them. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  work  commenced  at  Deer 
Creek.  Mr.  John  Watters  and  his  wife  joined  tUe  Methodists 
in  1770 ;  he  was  the  oldest  of  seven  brethren,  and  lived  at 
the  homestead — the  other  brothers,  Henry,  Godfrey,  Nicholas, 
Stephen,  Walter,  and  William  and  two  sisters,  all  professed 
justifying  faith  in  the  circle  of  nine  months,  and  joined  the 
Methodists.  In  May,  1771,  Mr.  John  Watters,  after  he  had 
been  among  the  Methodists  some  months  as  a  seeker,  was 
filled  with  the  pardoning  love  of  God.  The  da}^  following 
William  was  powerfully  blest.  Another  brother,  who  was 
looking  on,  was  convicted,  and  soon  after  converted.  The 
Rev.  William  Watters,  in  his  Life,  page  18,  says,  "  Up  to 
this  time  there  had  been  no  Methodist  preachers  in  Maryland 
but  Strawbridge,  Williams,  and  King.  Sometimes  for  weeks 
they  had  preaching  regularly  from  these  men,  and  then  for 
months  they  had  very  little  preaching ;  but  at  that  time 
nearly  all  the  Methodists  were  prophets,  and  on  the  Lord's 
day  they  divided  themselves  into  little  bands,  and  went  out 


1770.]  IN    AMERICA.  69 

through  the  neighborhood  where  there  were  open  doors,  and 
sung  their  hymns,  prayed,  read  the  Scriptures,  and  talked  to 
the  people,  and  soon  some  began  to  add  a  word  of  exhorta- 
tion. These  efforts  were  owned  of  the  Lord,  and  the  work 
spread  from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood ;  thus  was  the 
Deer  Creek  society  raised  up  in  1770." 

In  July,  1770,  we  infer  from  the  "Old  Book,"  Messrs. 
Boardman  and  Pilmoor  changed  fields  of  labor  r-^-Mr.  Board- 
man  went  to  New  York,  and  Mr.  Pilmoor  returned  to  Phi- 
lladelphia.  Under  date  of  July  17,  it  says,  "To  cash  for 
expenses  to  Philadelphia,  £1.  4.  0."  "Lost  Chapters,"  page 
212. 

They  continued  in  these  charges  from  July  to  November. 
It  was,  as  we  suppose,  during  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Pilmoor's 
stay  in  Philadelphia,  about  October  of  this  year,  that  he 
was  attracted  to  ^Liryland  by  hearing  of  the  great  success 
of  Strawbridge,  King,  and  Williams  there  ;  and  preached  in 
Baltimore  as  stated  above ;  also  in  other  places. 

In  November  of  this  year  they  changed  again  :  Mr.  Pil- 
moor returning  to  New  York,  where  he  spent  the  winter  of 
1770-1,  and  Mr.  Boardman  returning  to  Philadelphia  to 
spend  the  w^inter.  Accordingly  we  find  that  the  "  Old  Book" 
has  this  entry  under  date  of  November  22,  1770.  "  To  cash 
paid  Mr.  Bowden  to  take  Mr.  Boardman  and  bring  Mr. 
Pilmoor  from  P.  (Philadelphia)  Town  ^£4.0.0."  "Lost 
Chapters,"  p.  203. 

It  seems  that  it  was  after  Mr.  Boardman  came  to  Phila- 
delphia in  November  of  this  year,  that  he  first  went  into 
Maryland,  to  look  after  Methodism  as  Mr.  Wesley's  assistant, 
and  preached  in  Baltimore  and  in  other  places  in  Maryland. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Mr.  Pilmoor  continued  in  and  about  New  York  until  the 
middle  of  May,  1771.  Under  date  of  May  16,  1771,  the 
"  Old  Book"  charges  him  with  three  shillings  for  castor  oil. 
Previously  he  had  been  paid  his  salary  and  travelling  ex- 
penses, amounting  to  eight  pounds  and  eighteen  shillings. 
See  "  Lost  Chapters,"  p.  212. 

The  entries  in  the  "Old  Book,"  show  that  Robert  Wil- 
liams was  also  about  New  York  at  this  time.     Under  date 


70  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1771. 

of  April  15,  1771,  Mr.  Newton  paid  for  Mr.  Williams  two 
pounds  five  shillings  and  six  pence.  See  "Lost  Chapters," 
p.  193. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  God  was  preparing  the  way,  by 
one  of  His  mysterious  providences,  for  the  introduction  of 
Methodist  preaching,  and  Methodism,  into  New  Rochelle, 
in  Westchester  county,  N.  Y.,  by  His  servants,  Joseph 
Pilmoor  and  Robert  Williams.  See  the  following  account 
written  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  De  Vinne. 

The  Rev.  D.  De  Vinne,  in  a  history  of  the  rise  of  Method- 
ism on  New  Rochelle  Circuit,  gives  the  following  account  of 
a  very  special  providence  which  opened  the  way  for  the  intro- 
duction of  Methodism  into  the  town  of  New  Rochelle.  In 
1771  Mr.  Pilmoor,  in  company  with  Mr.  R.  Williams,  went 
from  New  York  to  New  Rochelle,  for  the  purpose  of  preach- 
ing to  the  people.  Hearing  that  there  was  a  religious  meet- 
ing at  Mr.  Frederick  Deveau's,  they  went  to  it.  The  wife  of 
Mr.  Deveau,  who  then  lay  very  sick,  had  a  short  time  before 
dreamed  that  she  was  in  a  dismal,  dark,  and  miry  swamp, 
without  path,  light,  or  guide,  where  she  wandered,  faint  and 
weary,  until  she  was  about  to  give  up  to  die,  when  two  men 
came  to  her,  one  of  whom  had  a  light,  and  offered  to  lead 
her  out — she  followed  them,  and  was  safely  brought  to  her 
family.  The  imagery  of  the  dream  so  deeply  impressed  her, 
that  she  said  she  could  describe  the  very  person  who  led  her 
out  of  the  swamp.  The  Rev.  Ichabod  Lewis,  Presbyterian 
minister  of  White  Plains,  conducted  the  meeting  that  night. 
When  he  was  done,  Mr.  Pilmoor  desired  permission  to  speak 
to  the  people  before  they  withdrew.  Mr.  Lewis  wished  to 
know  to  what  church  he  belonged ;  and,  being  told,  he  said 
he  did  not  know  who  the  Methodists  were,  and  demanded 
his  credentials  of  ordination ;  but,  learning  that  he  was  not 
ordained,  positively  refused  to  let  him  speak.  Mr.  Pilmoor, 
finding  out  the  proprietor  of  the  house,  asked  his  permission ; 
who,  going  to  the  adjoining  room  to  consult  his  sick  wife, 
opened  the  door,  when  Mrs.  Deveau  saw"  Mr.  Pilmoor  stand- 
ing in  the  other  room,  and  exclaimed :  "  There  is  the  man 
who  led  me  out  of  the  swamp,  and  he  must  preach."  Mr. 
Pilmoor  began,  and  Mr.  Lewis  left  the  house ;  and  while  he 
was  offering  a  full,  free,  and  present  salvation,  Mrs.  Deveau 
was,  indeed,  brought  out  of  the  swamp  of  spiritual  mire  and 
darkness,  into  the  glorious  light  of  peace  and  pardon  ;  and, 
having  enjoyed  the  blessed  evidence  of  God's  favor  a  few 
days,  she  died  triumphant  in  the  Lord.  The  following 
Saturday  Mr.  Pilmoor  preached  with  great  effect   to  the 


1771.]  IN    AMERICA.  71 

whole  ncigliborhood,  whom  this  remarkable  providence  had 
bronorht  tocjother. 

In  May,  1771,  Mr.  Pilmoor  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and 
Mr.  Boardman  to  New  York.  So  the  *'  Ohl  Book"  says 
that  cash  was  paid  to  bring  him  and  his  trunk  from  Phila- 
delphia, amounting  to  two  pounds  nineteen  shillings.  See 
"Lost  Chapters,"  p.  203. 

In  August  of  this  year,  it  appears  that  they  changed  fields 
of  labor  again.  His  salary  was  paid  for  one  quarter,  by  the 
stewards  of  Wesley  Chapel,  amounting  to  seven  pounds  eight 
shillings;  and  cash  was  paid  to  send  his  trunk,  amounting 
to  eleven  shillings  and  four  pence.  See  "  Lost  Chapters," 
p.  203. 

As  it  was  their  plan  then  to  make  three  changes  in  the 
year — spring,  summer,  and  fall,  continuing  through  the 
winter  in  the  same  field  of  labor,  they  thus  made  three  divi- 
sions of  the  year ;  the  winter  division  was  five  months  long, 
the  other  two  about  three  months  each,  and  one  month  was 
spent  in  travelling  from  one  place  to  the  other. 

About  October  of  this  year,  Mr.  Boardman  returned  to 
NcAv  York,  and  Mr.  Pilmoor  to  Philadelphia,  Avhere  Mr. 
Asbury  found  him,  and  heard  him  preach  in  St.  George's, 
on  his  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  27th  of  October,  1771. 
On  his  arrival  in  New  York,  on  the  12th  of  November,  he 
says,  he  "  found  Richard  Boardman  there  in  peace,  but 
weak  in  body."     See  "  Asbury's  Journals,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  4,  5. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  to  show  the  reader  Jiotu  and 
where  these  first  two  missionaries,  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley  to 
America,  spent  their  first  two  years  in  this  country. 

It  appears  that  Robert  Williams  was  about  New  York  in 
August,  1771;  as  eighteen  shillings  were  "paid  to  Caleb 
Hvatt  for  Mr.  Williams's  horse-keeping."  See  "Lost  Chap- 
ters," p.  193. 

As  New  York  was  his  first  field  of  labor  in  the  New 
World,  where  he  had  found  kind  friends  and  kindred  spirits, 
he  hugged  it  closely  for  about  two  years  and  a  half,  when 
he  went  to  Virginia,  where  he  became  deeply  interested,  and 
spent  most  of  his  remaining  short  life.  The  earliest  remin- 
iscence of  him,  in  New  York,  is  20th  of  September,  1769. 
Another  is  a  love-feast  ticket  in  his  autograph,  which  is  still 
preserved,  bearing  date  October  1,  1769,  given  to  Hannah 
Dean,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Paul  Heck.  See  "  Lost  Chap- 
ter," p.  195. 

The  following  shows  how  great  a  work  the  Lord  was  carry- 
ing on  in  Baltimore  and  Harford  counties,  Md.     In  the  fall 


72  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1771. 

of  1771,  William  Watters'  second  brother,  Henry  Walters, 
opened  bis  bouse  for  preacbing.  A  class  was  formed,  over 
wbicli  William  was  leader.  Soon  bis  brotber  Henry  was  con- 
verted, and  a  great  work  followed,  so  tbat  for  some  weeks 
William  Watters  could  do  but  little  besides  attending  to  tbe 
individuals  and  families  tbat  were  setting  out  for  beaven.  In 
tbis  great  reformation,  men  wbo  neither  feared  God  nor 
regarded  man,  swearers,  liars,  cock-fighters,  horse-racers, 
card-players,  and  drunkards,  were  made  new  creatures,  and 
filled  with  tbe  praises  of  God.  The  following  were  some  of 
the  individuals  that  united  with  tbe  Methodists  about  tbis 
time  in  Harford  and  Baltimore  counties — Giles,  Morgan, 
Litten,  Forward,  Baker,  Moore,  Sinclair,  Stanford,*  Gal- 
loway, Colgate,  Merryman,  Evans,  Brown,  Stephenson, 
Murry,  Simmes,  Bollin,  Gatch,  Duke,  Bond,  Barnet  Pres- 
ton, and  Mr.  Josiah  Dallam. 

At  this  time  there  was  not  a  more  valuable  family  among 
the  Methodists  than  the  Watters  family.  William  and  Ni- 
cholas became  travelling  preachers.  John  was  the  first  tbat 
joined  the  Methodists.  He  acted  in  the  capacity  of  a  stew- 
ard, and  was  a  serious,^  faithful  man.  He  died  peaceful  and 
happy,  in  1774.  Henry  Watters  was  also  a  steward,  and  an 
exhorter.  Most  of  the  other  brothers  filled  offices  among 
the  Methodists.  Tbe  fifth  Conference  was  held  in  the  oldest 
brother's  preaching-bouse,  at  Deer  Creek,  in  1777.  Some 
of  them  lived  to  a  good  old  age;  their  mother  was  ninety 
years  old  at  tbe  time  of  her  death.  In  1809,  tbe  Rev.  Free- 
born Garrettson  was  in  tbis  region,  and  says,  "  I  took  tbe 
hand  of  good  old  Brotber  Henry  Watters,  eighty  years  old  ; 
also  Brother  Herbert,  ninety  years  old."  In  1771,  the 
preachers  continued  to  visit  Baltimore,  and  preach  to  such  as 
Avould  bear  them,  as  they  proclaimed  from  "  tbe  block,  the 
table,  and  the  wayside ;  no  house  was  opened  for  stated 
preacbing,  or  for  their  gratuitous  entertainment."  The  word 
was,  nevertheless,  like  leaven  deposited  among  them,  and 
brought  forth  its  fruit  tbe  following  year. 

*  Brother  Stanford  became  a  local  preacher,  and  settled  in  Ken- 
tucky, -svhere  the  Rev.  Henry  Smith  found  him. 


1771.]  IN    AMERICA.  73 


CHAPTER  XI. 

In  1771,  Captain  Hood,  of  tlils  city,  the  nephew  of  Brother 
John  Hood,  brought  Messrs.  Asburj  and  Wright  to  this 
country  :  they  landed  in  Philadelphia  on  the  27th  of  October, 
two  years  after  the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor ; 
and  now  we  count  ten  Methodist  preachers  in  America  at 
this  date.  In  the  order  that  they  entered  the  work  here, 
they  were,  Strawbridge,  Embury,  Webb,  Williams,  Boardman, 
Pilmoor,  King,  Asbury,  Wright,  and  Richard  Owen  (the 
first  native  American  that  became  a  Methodist  preacher),  of 
Baltimore  county,  Maryland. 

Mr.  Richard  Wright  was'  received  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  a 
travelling  preacher,  in  1770,  one  year  after  he  came  to  this 
country.  His  first  winter  here,  he  spent  chiefly  in  Maryland 
on  Bohemia  Manor.  Mr.  Whitefield  had  labored  much  on 
this  Manor.  The  chief  families — the  Bayards,  Bouchells, 
and  Sluyters,  were  mostly  his  disciples.  There  is  a  room  in  a 
certain  house  where  he  slept,  prayed,  and  studied,  that  is  still 
called  Whitefield's  room.  The  Wesleyans  now  began  to  culti- 
vate this  field.  Mr.  Solomon  Hersey,  that  lived  below  the 
present  Bohemia  Mills,  at  what  was  then  called  Sluyter's  Mill, 
was  the  first  available  friend  to  Methodism.  He  had  the 
preaching  at  his  house  for  a  number  of  years ;  and,  though 
the  first  Methodist  preaching  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary- 
land was  in  Kent  county,  yet,  the  evidence  in  the  case  leads 
us  to  believe  that  the  first  society  on  this  shore  was  formed 
at  Brother  Hersey's,  in  1772.  This  society  is  still  represented 
at  the  Manor  Chapel.  The  old  Log  Chapel  which  was  called 
Bethesda,  which  fell  into  decay  an  age  ago,  was  built  between 
1780  and  1790.  The  Methodists  had  another  appointment 
at  Thompson's  school-house — here  a  society  was  raised  up,  at 
a  later  date,  and  a  chapel  called  Bethel  (at  Back  Creek) 
was  erected  subsequent  to  1790.  These  two  appointments 
were  established,  on  what  was  called  Bohemia  Manor,  as 
early  as  1771. 

While  Mr.  Wright  was  laboring  on  Bohemia  Manor  his 
attachments  became  so  strong  to  the  people  that  it  was  feared 
he  would  settle  there :  he  had  the  art  of  pleasing,  and  it  is 
likely  that  overtures  were  made  to  him  by  some  of  the 
principal  men,  in  view  of  having  constant,  instead  of  occasional 
preaching. 
7 


74  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1771. 

Mr.  Francis  Asbury,  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Asburj, 
was  born  in  England,  August  20,  1745,  near  the  foot  of 
Hamstead  Bridge,  in  the  parish  of  Hansworth,  four  miles 
from  Birmingham,  in  Staffordshire.  There  were  but  two 
children,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  His  sister  Sarah  died 
young.  Her  death  was  blest  to  her  mother  in  opening  the 
eyes  of  her  mind,  so  that  she  began  to  read  the  Bible,  and 
urged  her  husband  to  family  reading  and  prayer  ;  they  were 
also  fond  of  singing.  The  death  of  Sarah  Asbury  was  the 
apparent  cause  of  bringing  the  family  to  enjoy  spiritual  reli- 
gion ;  and  may  have  been  the  cause  of  giving  Mr.  Asbury's 
labors  to  Methodism  in  America.  After  his  parents  had  sup- 
ported Methodism  with  their  means  for  forty  years  or  more, 
they  died  at  an  advanced  age ;  his  father  died  in  1798,  in 
his  eighty-fifth  year ;  and  his  mother  in  1802,  in  her  eighty- 
eighth  year,  leaving  to  their  son  the  rich  inheritance  of -a 
blameless  and  holy  life. 

The  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  felt  upon  the  heart 
of  Mr.  Asbury  at  the  age  of  seven  years ;  but  it  was  not 
until  he  was  fourteen  years  old  that  he  was  justified  by  faith. 
As  soon  as  he  was  awakened  he  left  his  blind  priest  and 
began  to  attend  AVest-Bromwick  Church,  where  Ryland, 
Stillingfleet,  Talbot,  Bagnal,  Mansfield,  Hawes,  and  Venn, 
great  names  and  esteemed  gospel  ministers,  preached.  Soon 
after,  he  first  heard  the  Methodists  at  Wednesbury,  and  con- 
cluded their  way  was  better  than  the  Church :  "  Men  and 
women  kneeling  down — saying  Amen.  Now,  behold !  they 
were  singing  hymns — sweet  sound  !  Why,  strange  to  tell ! 
the  preacher  had  no  prayer-book,  and  yet  he  prayed  wonder- 
fully !  What  was  yet  more  extraordinary,  the  man  took  his 
text,  and  had  no  sermon-book :  this  is  wonderful  indeed  ! 
but  the  best  way."  Soon  after,  he  united  with  the  Metho- 
dists, and  began  to  hold  meetings  and  exhort  the  people,  and 
several  found  peace  to  their  souls  through  his  labors.  He 
was  next  known  as  a  local  preacher,  laboring  in  the  counties 
of  Derby,  Stafford,  Warwick,  and  Worcester.  After  acting 
as  a  local  preacher  for  nearly  five  years,  he  gave  himself  up 
to  God  and  his  work,  fully,  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his 
age,  which  was  in  1766. 

For  more  than  six  months  previous  to  his  offering  himself 
for  the  work  of  this  country,  he  had  felt  a  conviction  that  he 
would  come  to  America.  At  the  Conference,  which  was  held 
at  Bristol  in  1771,  Mr.  Wesley  made  a  second  call  for 
preachers  to  go  over  to  America,  when  Mr.  Asbury  offered 
himself,  and  was  accepted  by  Mr.  Wesley.     When  he  came 


1771.]  IN    AMERICA.  75 

to  Bristol,  in  order  to  sail  for  Philadelphia,  he  had  not  one 
penny ;  but  the  Lord  opened  the  hearts  of  friends,  who  sup- 
plied him  with  clothes  and  ten  pounds  of  money.  On  the 
2d  of  September  he  left  England  and  his  weeping  parents 
and  friends  behind,  to  see  them  no  more  in  this  world !  On 
landing  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  directed  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Francis  Harris,  who  brought  him  and  Mr.  Wright  to  a  large 
church  (St.  George's),  where  Mr.  Pilmoor  preached  that  even- 
ing. He  says,  "  The  people  looked  on  us  with  pleasure, 
hardly  knowing  how  to  show  their  love  suflSciently,  bidding 
us  welcome  with  fervent  affection,  and  receiving  us  as  angels 
of  God.  When  I  came  near  the  American  shore,  my  heart 
melted  within  me,  to  think  from  whence  I  came,  where  I  was 
going,  and  what  I  was  going  about.  But  my  tongue  was 
loosed  to  speak  to  the  people." 

We  have  seen  the  kind  and  cordial  feeling  manifested  by 
the  Philadelphia  Methodists  towards  Messrs.  Asbury  and 
Wright  on  their  arrival.  This  spirit  was  possessed  in  a  high 
degree  by  the  first  race  in  this  city,  and  shown  towards  their 
preachers.  After  spending  a  few  days  in  Philadelphia  Mr. 
Asbury  proceeded  to  New  York,  which  was  his  first  field  of 
labor  in  this  country.  In  passing  through  Jersey  he  became 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Peter  Van  Pelt  of  Staten  Island,  who 
gave  him  an  invitation  to  his  house,  which  was  accepted,  and 
he  spent  the  following  Sabbath  on  this  Island,  preaching  at 
Mr.  Van  Pelt's  and  at  Justice  Wright's.  We  take  this  to  be 
the  first  Methodist  preaching  on  the  Island.  After  some 
years  a  society  was  formed,  and  a  cRapel  was  built  about 
1790.  Israel  Disosway,  Abraham  Woglam,  Justice  Wright, 
Moses  Doty  or  Doughty,  Mr.  Ward,  and  Peter  Van  Pelt,  were 
the  first  friends  that  Methodist  preachers  found  on  this 
island.  In  a  subsequent  part  of  this  work  will  be  found  a 
copy  of  the  first  class  paper  of  the  Methodists  of  Staten 
Island,  as  furnished  by  Gabriel  P.  Disosway,  Esq.,  whose 
father  was  the  first  class-leader. 

Peter  Van  Pelt's  brother,  Benjamin,  became  a  Methodist, 
and  a  useful  local  preacher  in  Tennessee. 

The  Rev.  William  Burke  says,  "  At  an  early  time,  Benja- 
min Van  Pelt  moved  from  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  settled  on 
Lick  Creek,  Green  county,  Tenn.  He  had  considerable 
talents,  and  was  very  useful  in  that  new  country ;  several 
societies  Avere  formed  by  his  ministry,  and  one  of  the  first 
Methodist  chapels  in  this  country  was  Van  Pelt's  Meeting- 
house. He  was  one  of  the  '  Fathers'  of  Methodism  in  East 
Tennessee,  where  he  settled  between  1780  and  1790.     He 


76  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1771. 

was  a  close  and  constant  friend  of  Bishop  Asbury.  He  will 
be  long  remembered  by  the  people  of  the  French  Broad 
country."  If  Mr.  Van  Pelt  once  lived  in  Alexandria  on  the 
Potomac,  he  had  previously  lived  on  Staten  Island,  New 
York. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  1771,  Mr.  Asbury  preached 
his  first  sermon  in  New  York.  He  formed  a  circuit  around 
this  city  which  embraced  Staten  Island,  Westchester,  East- 
chester,  West-Farms,  Rye,  Mamaroneck,  and  New-Rochelle. 
Many  of  the  people  of  this  region  had  descended  from  the 
Huguenots.  In  his  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  6,  he  tells  us  that  on 
Saturday,  Nov.  24  (1771),  he  went  with  Brother  Sause  and 
Brother  White  to  Westchester;  here,  his  friends  obtained 
from  the  mayor  the  court-house,  in  which  he  preached,  tvvice 
on  the  following  Sabbath :  the  mayor,  and  other  chief  men 
of  the  town,  were  among  his  hearers  ;  and,  while  they  listened 
with  solemn  attention,  the  power  of  God  rested  on  both, 
speaker  and  hearers.  In  the  evening  he  preached  at  West- 
Farms,  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Molloy.  On  the  two  following 
days  he  preached  again  in  Westchester,  and  lodged  with 
the  mayor. 

Returning  to  New  York,  he  preached  there  on  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath :  but,  as  Mr.  Boardman  was  in  the  city,  Mr. 
Asbury  returned  to  Westchester  and  put  up  with  Dr.  White. 
On  Sabbath  morning  he  preached  in  the  court-house,  where 
he  expected  to  preach  at  night;  but  his  friend  Molloy 
informed  him  that  it  was  shut  against  him  ;  however,  a  tavern- 
keeper  accommodated  him  with  a  room.  In  the  evening  he 
preached  at  West-Farms,  and  lodged  with  Mr.  Oakley.  This 
family,  like  most  who  received  the  messengers  of  the  gospel, 
became  Methodists. 

Dec.  10,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  New  Rochelle,  and  was 
kindly  received  by  Mr.  Deveau  and  family,  in  whose  house 
he  preached  twice.  After  preaching  at  Rye,  Eastchester 
and  Mamaroneck,  where  good  impressions  were  made,  he 
returned  to  New  York,  where  he  labored  the  following  Sab- 
bath. 

During  Christmas  week  he  visited  Staten  Island,  and  was 
kindly  received  by  Justice  Wright,  Peter  Van  Pelt,  and  Mr. 
Ward — preaching  in  all  three  of  their  houses. 

January  1,  1772,  Mr.  Asbury  was  in  New  York  ;  but  soon 
afterwards,  in  company  with  Mr.  Sause,  went  to  West-Farms, 
preaching  in  Brother  Molloy's  house ;  also  at  Westchester. 
At  West-Farms,  Friend  Hunt  was  so  affected  that  he  had 
preaching  in  his  house,  though  a  Quaker  ;  both  he  and  Mr. 


1771-2.]  IN    AMERICA.  77 

MoUoy  were  now  awakened.  After  preaching  to  an  attentive 
people  at  Mr.  Deveau's,  and  to  many  at  Mamaroneck,  he 
addressed  a  crowd  of  willing  hearers  at  Friend  Burling's — a 
new  place.  We  find  him  next  laboring  at  Mr.  Deveau's,  and 
at  Brother  Hunt's.  From  here  he  went  to  New-City,  and 
was  well  received  by  Mr.  Bartoe.  He  also  preached  on 
Philips  Manor.  Next,  at  New  Rochelle,  where  he  for  the 
first  time  preached  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Peter  Bonnette.  He 
now  had  two  preaching  places  at  New  Rochelle,  Deveau's  and 
Bennett's.  After  preaching  at  New-City,  he  lodged  with  his 
friend  Pell ;  from  here  he  went  to  his  friend  Bartoe's,  where 
he  was  compelled  to  stay  for  several  days,  on  account  of 
sickness.  Dr.  White  kindly  and  gratuitously  attended  him. 
While  here  he  was  visited  by  Mr.  De  Lancey,  son  of  Gov. 
De  Lancey,  who  lived  near  Salem,  who  invited  him  to  his 
house.  From  Mr.  Bartoe's,  Mr.  Asbury  went  to  New  York  ; 
this  was  in  March,  1772.  Mr.  Pilmoor  was  in  New  York  at 
this  time   and  Mr.  Boardman  in  Philadelphia. 

In  company  with  Samuel  Selby,  Mr.  Asbury  came  to 
Staten  Island,  to  the  house  of  his  friend,  Justice  Wright. 
After  preaching  at  Peter  Van  Pelt's,  he,  for  the  first  time, 
received  an  invitation  to  preach  at  Mr.  Disosway's  house, 
where  many  who  had  not  heard  a  sermon  for  a  long  time, 
heard  him.  He,  also,  preached  at  another  new  place  on  the 
island, — this  was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Abraham  AYoglam. 
There  were,  already,  about  half  a  dozen  preaching  places  on 
the  island ;  and  the  people  seemed  well  disposed  towards 
Methodist  preaching. 

In  the  latter  end  of  March,  1772,  Mr.  Asbury  moved 
towards  Philadelphia.  At  Amboy,  he  preached  in  Mr. 
Thompson's  house.  Passing  through  Spotswood  and  Cross- 
wicks,  he  came  to  Burlington,  where  he  preached  in  the 
court-house  ;  this  was  his  second  sermon  in  the  place. 
March  30,  1772,  he  was  for  the  first  time  in  New  Mills, 
where  he  was  well  received,  and  preached  in  the  Baptist 
Meeting-house. 


7* 


78  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1772. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1772,  Robert  Williams  went 
to  Norfolk,  Va.  He  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher 
in  the  "  Old  Dominion."  He  continued  to  preach  in  and 
about  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth  about  two  months,  and  his 
powerful  appeals  to  the  people  who  came  to  hear  him — and 
they  were  many — made  a  deep  impression  on  some  of  them ; 
and,  if  he  did  not  form  a  society  at  this  time  in  both  these 
towns,  he  or  Mr.  Pilmoor  did  in  the  latter  end  of  this  year. 
In  April  of  this  year,  Mr.  Williams  was  back  to  Philadelphia, 
and  made  a  very  favorable  report  of  his  visit,  and  Mr. 
Pilmoor  followed  him. 

April  2,  1772.  Mr.  Asbury  came  to  Philadelphia,  where 
he  found  Mr.  Boardman  and  Captain  Webb.  A  plan  for  the 
preachers  for  the  next  quarter  was  now  made  by  Mr.  Board- 
man,  as  follows : — Mr.  Boardman  to  go  to  Boston  ;  Mr. 
Pilmoor  to  Virginia ;  Mr.  Wright  to  New  York ;  and  Mr. 
Asbury  to  Philadelphia.  While  in  Philadelphia,  at  this 
time,  he  says,  "  We  dined  at  Mr.  Roberdeau's,  who  cannot 
keep  negroes  for  conscience'  sake."  Brother  David  Lake, 
the  old  sexton  of  St.  George's,  who  died  a  few  years  since, 
aged  about  eighty-five,  who  joined  the  Methodists  in  1790, 
informed  us  that  Mr.  Roberdeau  was  a  lumber  merchant, 
having  his  board-yard  in  Fourth  street  near  Cherry  street. 
He  was  a  warm  friend  to  the  Methodists.  Was  not  this  he 
who  afterwards  was  "  General  Roberdeau,"  the  French 
gentleman  who  introduced  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  to 
General  Washington,  at  Mount  Vernon,  in  1785  ? 

After  preaching  in  St.  George's  and  the  Bettering-house, 
Mr.  Asbury  started  for  Bohemia,  to  find  Mr.  Wright,  who 
had  been  laboring  there.  Stopping  at  Old  Chester,  at 
Mrs.  Withey's  tavern,  he  found  it  to  be  the  place  where 
Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor  put  up.  Finding  that  the 
people  of  Chester  were  pleased  with  Methodist  preaching, 
he  left  an  appointment  to  preach  on  his  return.  Before  he 
reached  Wilmington,  he  met  Mr.  Wright,  as  he  was  turning 
oiF  to  Mr.  Tussey's,  to  stay  all  night.  Next  day,  he  went 
to  Mr.  Stedham's,  in  Wilmington.  Without  stopping  to 
preach  in  this  town,  he  went  to  NcAvcastle,  and  preached  in 
Mr.  Robert  Furness's  tavern.  Mr.  Furness  was  a  Methodist 
at  this  time,  and  one  of  the  first  in  Delaware.     Mr.  Asbury 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  79 

had  a  strong  desire  to  go  to  Baltimore,  but  was  deterred  by 
the  distance.  About  eight  months  after,  he  saw  Baltimore. 
Reaching  Bohemia  Manor  for  the  first  time,  he  spent  a 
Sabbath  there,  preaching  three  times  in  Mr.  Solomon  Hersey's 
house,  on  the  head  of  Bohemia  river.  After  visiting  Mr. 
Ephraim  Thompson,  near  Back  Creek,  he  came  to  Wilming- 
ton, where  he  preached  to  a  few,  for  the  first  time  in  this 
town.  Coming  to  Old  Chester,  he  delivered  his  message  to 
them,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  court-house.  After  visiting 
the  prisoners  in  the  jail,  he  came  to  Philadelphia.  While 
oflSciating  in  Mrs.  Withey's  public-house,  the  first  night  he 
spent  in  it,  she  was  awakened  under  his  first  prayer  in  her 
house. 

About  the  middle  of  April,  Mr.  Asbury  entered  on  the 
duties  of  the  Philadelphia  charge.  He  remarks,  "  I  hope, 
before  long,  about  seven  preachers  of  us  will  spread  seven 
or  eight  hundred  miles."  These  seven  preachers  were, 
Webb,  Boardman,  Pilmoor,  Asbury,  Wright,  Williams,  and 
King.  "April  23.  Brother  Williams  set  off  for  New  York. 
24.  In  the  evening  I  kept  the  door,  met  the  society,  and 
read  Mr.  Wesley's  epistle  to  them."  "29.  Came  to  Bur- 
lington, where  I  met  Brother  Webb  and  Brother  King,  and 
found   the    people    there   very  lively.      Two    persons    have 

obtained  justification  under  Brother  Webb  ;  and  Dr.  T 1, 

a  man  of  dissipation,  was  touched  under  Brother  Boardman's 
preaching  last  night ;  a  large  number  attended  while  I 
preached  at  the  court-house." 

Mr.  Asbury  returned  to  Philadelphia.  Soon  after,  he  and 
John  King,  by  request,  attended  the  execution  of  the  prison- 
ers at  Old  Chester.  They  both  preached  on  the  occasion. 
"  The  executioner  pretended  to  tie  them  all  up,  but  tied  only 
one,  and  let  the  other  three  fall ;  one  was  a  young  man  of 
fifteen  years ;  we  saw  them*  afterwards,  and  warned  them  to 
be  careful."  "  May  5.  Set  out  for  Burlington  again,  and 
preached  to  a  serious  people."  After  visiting  the  prisoners, 
he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  spent  the  Sabbath  in 
preaching  and  meeting  the  society,  which  was  attended  to  on 
Sabbath  evening. 

Mr.  Asbury  directed  his  course  into  Jersey  again,  on  the 
12th  of  May,  but  in  a  direction  he  had  not  taken  before ;  he 
went  about  Carpenter's  Landing  and  preached  with  great  life 
and  power.  Most  likely  at  Jesse  Chew's.  Same  day 
preached  at  Thomas  Taper's,  with  life.  After  preaching 
with  divine  assistance  at  the  new  church,  he  lodged  at  Isaac 
Jenkins's,  who  conducted  him  to  Gloucester  on  his  way  to 


80  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

the  city.  When  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  he  "  found  a 
change.  Brother  Pilmoor  was  come,  and  the  house  (the 
home  and  study  of  the  preachers)  was  given  up ;  which 
pleased  me  well,  as  it  was  a  burden  to  the  people.  Brother 
Pilmoor  went  to  Mr.  Burton  Wallace's,  and  I  went  to 
Mr.  Lambert  Wilmer's,  where  dear  sister  Wilmer  took  great 
care  of  me."  Thus  ended  the  first  parsonage  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

''Lord's  Day,  17.  After  preaching  in  the  morning"  (at 
St.  George's),  "I  went  to  see  George  Hungary,  who  was 
near  to  eternity ;  he  had  peace  in  his  soul.  May  20.  Went 
to  Trenton ;  but  as  the  court  was  sitting,  I  was  obliged  to 
preach  in  a  school-house,  to  but  few  people."  This  is  the 
first  time  that  Mr.  Asbury  mentions  Trenton,  as  visited  by 
him.  May  21.  "  Preached  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
to  a  few  simple  people ;  and  in  the  evening  at  Burlington. 
Sunday,  24.  We  rode  down  to  Greenwich,  where  I  preached; 
we  then  rode  back  to  friend  Price's,  and  dined ;  thence  to 
Gloucester,  where  I  preached ;  then  up  to  Philadelphia,  and 
preached  in  the  evening." 

Next  we  find  Mr.  Asbury  visiting  Burlington  and  New 
Mills ;  at  the  former  place  he  attended  a  prisoner  to  the 
place  of  execution.  Then  returning  to  his  work  in  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley. 

June  3.  "  I  preached,  with  great  power,  at  Manta  Creek ; 
then  went  one  and  a  half  miles,  and  preached,  with  life,  at 
Mr.  Taper's."  After  preaching  at  Greenwich  and  Glouces- 
ter, he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  spent  the  Lord's 
day,  and  communed  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stringer,  a  friendly 
minister.  The  same  day  held  a  love-feast,  at  which  some 
of  the  Jersey  Methodists  "  spoke  of  the  power  of  God  with 
freedom." 

Mr.  Asbury  paid  a  second  visit  to  Trenton,  where  divine 
power  attended  his  preaching.  He  also  preached  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river.  Thus  he  continued  to  fill  his  appoint- 
ments at  Trenton,  New  Mills,  and  Burlington,  on  week  days, 
spending  most  of  his  Sabbaths  in  Philadelphia.  June  23. 
"  Walked  down  to  Gloucester  Point,  and  then  rode  to  Bro- 
ther Chew's,  and  preached  to  many  people.  24.  At  Green- 
wich I  met  with  Mr.  Stringer,  who  preached  and  baptized 
several  people.  We  conversed  on  the  insult  which  Mr. 
Shirley  had  given  Mr.  Wesley.  Mr.  Stringer  said  Mr. 
Wesley  was  undoubtedly  a  good  man,  and  had  been  useful 
to  thousands.  Returning  back  towards  Gloucester,  I  called 
on  Squire  Price,  and  presented  him  with  a  petition  for  raising 


1772.]  IN    AMERICA.  81 

one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  to  discharge  the  deht  on  our 
preaching-house  (St.  George's)  in  Philadelphia." 

Returning  to  Philadelphia,  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Pilraoor,  who  was  now  in  Maryland,  on  his  way  to  Virginia, 
"  replete  with  accounts  of  his  preaching  abroad^  and  in 
the  churchy  to  large  congregations,  and  the  like."  On  his 
next  visit  to  Trenton  he  preached  five  times,  one  of  which 
w^as  in  ^  field  ;  he  also  filled  his  appointment  over  the  river  ; 
it  seems  that  this  place  was  near  Trenton.  Soon  after  he 
attended  the  execution  of  a  man  by  the  name  of  Smart,  who 
was  hung  at  Burlington,  for  murder. 

July  14.  "Went  to  Jersey,  and  preached  at  Friend  Tur- 
ner's. Then  at  Jesse  Chew's ;  next  day  at  Greenwich ;  then 
at  Gloucester ;  next  to  Haddonfield,  and  preached  to  a  few 
attentive  hearers,  at  Joseph  Thome's."  Mr.  Asbury  finished 
his  work,  on  the  Philadelphia  Circuit,  which,  at  this  time,  in- 
cluded all  of  Methodism  in  Jersey,  by  preaching  at  Trenton, 
New  Mills,  and  Burlington.  On  his  last  visit  to  Trenton  he 
first  notices  the  existence  of  a  society  in  that  place,  which 
consisted  of  nineteen  serious  persons.  This  was  in  July, 
1772.  About  this  time  Mr.  Asbur}^  met  Mr.  Boardman, 
who  had  been  to  Boston,  where  he  had  spent  some  time  in 
the  work  of  the  ministry ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  formed  a 
Methodist  society  in  the  place ;  but,  as  no  other  Methodist 
preacher  succeeded  him  for  several  years,  the  society  lan- 
guished away,  after  he  left,  for  want  of  ministerial  attention. 

In  the  latter  end  of  July,  1772,  Mr.  Boardman  made  out 
his  second  plan  for  this  year,  which  seems  to  have  been  thus : 
Mr.  Asbury  to  go  to  New  York  ;  Mr.  Wright  to  Maryland, 
to  labor  with  Messrs.  Strawbridge,  Williams,  and  King ;  Mr. 
Pilmoor,  as  we  have  seen,  was  appointed  to  Virginia.  While 
Mr.  Boardman  took  charge  of  Philadelphia,  and  also  visited 
Maryland,  as  the  superintendent. 

As  Mr.  Pilmoor  was  on  his  way  to  A^irginia,  passing 
through  Maryland,  and  preaching  from  place  to  place,  he 
came  to  Deer  Creek.  While  here,  he  lodged  in  the  old 
mansion  of  the  Watters  family ;  where  he  wrote,  on  a  pane 
of  glass,  with  the  point  of  a  diamond, 

"  Soft  peace  she  brings  wherever  she  arrives  ; 
She  builds  our  quiet  as  she  forms  our  lives ; 
Lays  the  rough  paths  of  peevish  nature  even, 
And  opens  in  each  heart  a  little  heaven." 

Psa.  xcix.  9,  "  Exalt  Jehovah  our  God." 

J.  P.  (Joseph  Pilmoor), 

June  30,  1772. 


82  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

This  has  been  read  by  many  an  itinerant  Methodist 
preacher,  who  has  lodged  in  the  same  house  since  it  was 
written ;  and,  it  is  said,  the  pane  of  glass  has  been  carefully 
preserved  to  this  day,  as  a  memento. 

In  the  latter  end  of  July,  1772,  Mr.  Asbury  left  Burling- 
ton for  New  York.  Ilis  friend  Sause,  it  seems,  accompanied 
him.  After  spending  a  Sabbath  with  his  friends  on  Staten 
Island,  he  came  to  the  city.  He  also  paid  several  preaching 
visits  to  New  Rochelle,  Kingsbridge,  and  other  places  in  that 
region. 

He,  also,  took  in  New  Town,  on  Long  Island,  where 
Captain  Webb  had  successfully  preached  in  1767.  The 
state  of  things  in  New  York,  at  this  time,  was  not  the  most 
pleasant.  He  says,  "  I  found  broken  classes,  and  a  dis- 
ordered society,  so  that  my  heart  was  sunk  within  me." 
He  was  charged  with  using  Mr.  Newton,  one  of  the  official 
members,  ill ;  and  Mr.  Lupton  told  him  that  he  had  preached 
the  people  away,  and  intimated  that  the  whole  work  would 
be  destroyed  by  him.  It  seems,  that  Mr.  Asbury's  strict 
attention  to  discipline,  was  the  ground  of  dissatisfaction  ; 
but,  while  this  displeased  some  of  the  New  York  Methodists, 
it  gave  great  satisfaction  to  Mr.  Wesley,  who,  just  at  this 
time,  appointed  him  his  assistant,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Board- 
man,  as  Mr.  Wesley  desired  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor 
to  return  to  England.  As  some  of  the  stewards  of  the 
society  had  not  given  satisfaction  to  the  society,  of  all  the 
collections,  Mr.  Asbury  appointed  Mr.  Chase  or  Chave,  to 
take  an  account  of  the  weekly  and  quarterly  collections, — 
this  was  displeasing  to  some.  Such  was  the  state  of  things, 
that  he  thought  it  necessary  to  read  Mr.  Wesley's  sermon 
on  evil-speaking,  to  the  society. 

Mr.  Asbury  was  in  New  York  at  this  time,  about  three 
months.  It  seems  he  had  not  much  success ;  and  does  not 
record  any  special  religious  prosperity.  He  was,  however, 
discharging  his  duty  as  a  pastor.  It  was  his  custom  to 
attend  the  ministry  of  others,  when  he  had  opportunity. 
While  in  New  York,  he  heard  Dr.  Ogilvie,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ingles,  with  considerable  pleasure. 

While  Mr.  Asbury  was  using  discipline  in  New  York, 
the  then  successful,  but  afterwards  unfortunate,  Abraham 
Whitworth,  was  doing  a  good  work  in  Jersey.  Under  his 
ministry,  that  remarkable  man,  Mr.  Benjamin  Abbott,  was 
awakened,  in  September ;  and  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  was 
powerfully  blessed,  on  Monday  morning,  October  12,  1772. 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  83 

In  him,  as  the  sequel  of  his  subsequent  life  showed,  Method- 
ism had  found  a  mystic  Samson. 

Mr.  Boardman,  it  seems,  succeeded  Mr.  Ashury  in  New 
York  ;  Mr.  Wright  was  assigned  to  Philadelphia,  and  Mr. 
Asbury  to  Maryland,  where  John  King,  Strawbridge,  and 
others,  were  laboring.  Messrs.  Pilmoor,  Williams,  and  Wat- 
ters  were  in  Virginia. 

In  the  last  of  October,  Mr.  Asbury,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Sause,  set  out  for  Maryland.  Passing  through  Philadel- 
phia, Chester,  and  New  Castle — where  he  found  a  few 
Methodists — he  came  to  Bohemia  Manor,  and  preached  at 
Mr.  Hersey's,  and  at  another  place.  He  also  visited  Messrs. 
Ephraim  and  Robert  Thompson;  these  were  already  friends; 
and  the  latter  became  a  Methodist,  and  was  long  the  host 
of  Mr.  Asbury  and  other  preachers ;  and  may  be  regarded 
as  the  germ  of  Methodism  at  Bethel,  on  Back  Creek.  At 
this  time,  their  father  was  living,  a  hundred  years  old,  as  he 
informed  Mr.  Asbury ;  and  that  his  father  attained  to  the 
age  of  one  hundred  and  nine,  and  never  needed  the  use  of 
spectacles.  Brother  Samuel  Thompson,  a  relative  of  theirs, 
is  still  living  in  the  same  place. 

Crossing  the  Susquehanna,  Mr.  Asbury  found  comfort- 
able quarters  at  friend  Nathaniel  Giles's ;  where  they  had  a 
family  meeting,  at  which  Richard  Webster  gave  a  moving 
exhortation.  Mr.  Asbury  preached  his  first  sermon  on  the 
Western  Shore  of  Maryland,  at  Rock  Run.  From  here  he 
went,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Giles  and  her  brother,  to  Deer 
Creek,  where  he  preached  with  liberty,  at  Mr.  Morgan's. 
His  next  appointment  was  at  Samuel  Litten's — a  convert  from 
among  the  Quakers.  The  next  day,  he  and  his  company 
went  to  Henry  Watters's,  where  they  had  a  powerful  meet- 
inor ;  several  from  Mr.  Moro-an's  were  there.  Here  he  was 
at  headquarters,  and  found  many  warm  in  their  first  love,  as 
there  had  just  been  a  great  reformation.  Here  he  met  with 
Nicholas  Watters,  who  was  then  an  exhorter.  His  next 
preaching  place  was  at  Samuel  Forward's,  where  he  had 
many  people. 

November  8,  Lord's  Day.  There  was  a  melting  time 
while  he  preached  again  at  Henry  Watters's.  In  the  after- 
noon, he  preached  with  liberty  at  Richard  Webster's,  an- 
other exhorter ;  and  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  he  had 
many  to  hear  him  at  the  widow  Bond's. 

Tuesday,  10.  He  preached  to  many  people,  with  liberty, 
at  Charles  Baker's,  and  at  J.  Moore's.  Wednesday,  11. 
Many  attended  at  Mr.   Sinclair's.     His  congregation  was, 


84  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

also,  large  at  Aquila  Standford's.  Next  day,  he  preached 
at  Brother  Galloway's  ;  and,  also,  at  Brother  Chamber- 
lain's. 

The  next  appointment,  according  to  his  Journal,  was  at 
Mr.  G.'s  (probably  Gatch's),  where  many  attended  the 
word.  His  congregation  was  also  large  at  John  Colgate's. 
He  observes,  "  This  man's  friends  have  rejected  him  on 
account  of  his  religion:"  it  seems,  because  he  had  become 
a  Methodist.  He  then  rode  to  Richard  Owens's,  the  first 
native  American  Methodist  preacher.  It  appears  that  he 
spent  the  following  Sabbath,  laboring  among  the  Ow^ens's. 

November  18.  He  went  to  Mr.  Straw^bridge's.  "  Here 
we  had  Dr.  Warfield,  and  several  polite  people,  to  dine  with 
us.  I  spoke  to  the  ladies  about  head-dresses  ;  but  the  doctor 
vindicated  them.  We  then  rode  to  Friend  Durbin's.  19. 
Friend  Durbin  and  I  set  off  for  Fredericktown.  We  came 
to  George  Saxton's ;  many  people  came  to  hear  me  in  the 
town  of  Frederica"  (Fredericktown,  now  Frederick  City). 

Sunday,  22.  He  was  for  the  first  time  at  the  Log  Meet- 
ing-house, at  Pipe  or  Sam's  Creek.  After  preaching  there, 
he  set  off  to  fill  another  appointment.  John  and  Paul  Ha- 
gerty,  and  Hezekiah  Bonham,  accompanied  him.  At  Mr. 
Durbin's,  he  had  the  Rev.  Benedict  Swope,  of  the  German 
Reformed  Church,  to  hear  him.  He  speaks  of  preaching  at 
Winchester;  but  this  must  be  a  misprint  —  more  likely 
Westminster.  From  here,  he  returned  to  Richard  Owens's ; 
and  preached,  with  much  feeling,  to  many  people.  24. 
"  We  rode  twenty  miles  to  my  old  friend,  Joshua  Owens 
(father  of  Richard) — the  forest-home  for  the  Methodists  at 
that  time — and  found  a  very  agreeable  house  and  family. 
The  old  man  is  an  Israelite  indeed.  He  w\as  once  a  serious 
Churchman,  who  sought  for  the  truth ;  and  now  God  has 
revealed  it  to  him.  The  Lord  has,  also,  begun  to  bless  his 
family.  He  has  one  son  a  preacher ;  and  the  rest  of  his 
children  are  very  thoughtful.  Though  it  w^as  a  very  rainy 
day,  there  were  many  people,  and  my  heart  w^as  greatly 
enlarged  towards  them  in  preaching."  25.  "  The  congre- 
gation was  also  large  at  Mr.  Samuel  Merryman's,  and  the 
Lord  was  with  me.  At  Mr.  Evans's,  the  congregation  was 
small." 

The  following  Sabbath  he  spent  in  Baltimore.  Monday, 
December  1,  he  preached  at  Nathan  Perrigau's,  and  at 
Wm.  Lynch's.  The  next  day,  at  Joppa,  to  many  people 
from  town  and  country.  From  here,  he  went  to  James 
Presbury's.  and  preached  with  power  to  many  people.    Then, 


1772.]  IN    AMERICA.  85 

went  into  the  Neck,  and  preached  (probably  at  James 
Baker's,)  a  heart-affecting  sermon.  He  then  returned  to 
J.  Presbury's,  and,  after  preaching  there  again,  went  home 
with  Mr.  Josiah  Dallam,  and  preached  at  his  house;  and  the 
next  day,  at  Moses  Brown's. 

Lord's  Day,  December  7.  He  went  to  the  Bush  Forrest 
Chapel,  which,  at  that  time,  had  no  windows  or  doors ;  the 
weather  was  very  cold ;  his  heart  pitied  the  people,  so 
exposed  to  the  cold.  Putting  a  handkerchief  over  his  head, 
he  preached  two  sermons,  giving  an  hour's  intermission  ; 
and  such  was  the  eagerness  of  the  people  to  hear  the  word, 
that  they  waited  all  the  time  in  the  cold. 

Mr.  Asbury  had  now  gone  round  that  part  of  his  circuit 
which  lay  on  the  western  shore ;  and  now,  in  company  with 
John  King,  he  crossed  the  Susquehanna,  to  visit  that  part 
of  it  which  lay  on  the  Peninsula,  between  Chester  river  and 
Wilmington.  His  circuit,  which  lay  in  six  counties,  would 
be  considered  quite  large  at  this  day.  Passing  through 
Charleston  and  Elkton,  they  lodged  at  Robert  Thompson's, 
at  Back  Creek.  From  here,  he  went  to  Bird's  tavern,  at 
the  (now)  Summit  Bridge,  for  his  trunk  and  box  of  books. 

"  He  then  went  to  Solomon  Hersey's,  and  preached  ;  after- 
wards, spoke  to  each  one  concerning  the  state  of  his  soul ;  this 
is  the  first  statement  we  meet  with  that  looks  like  a  class- 
meeting,  held  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  On  his  way 
to  Georgetown,  he  found  a  large  house  on  Bohemia,  belonging 
to  Mr.  Bayard,  where  Mr.  Whitefield  had  preached ;  here, 
it  seems,  he  preached.  Then,  proceeding  on  to  John  Randle's, 
he  preached  to  many  people,  rich  and  poor.  After  preaching 
at  John  Randle's,  he  went  twelve  miles  lower  into  the 
county,  to  the  neighborhood  of  Hinson's  Chapel,  where  he 
had  many  great  people  to  hear  him.  Here  he  was  met  by 
Mr.  Read,  a  church  minister,  who  wished  to  know  who 
he  was,  and  whether  he  was  licensed.  He  spoke  great, 
swelling  words,  saying  he  had  authority  over  the  people,  and 
was  charged  with  the  care  of  their  souls;  and,  that  he  (Mr. 
A.)  could  not,  and  should  not  preach ;  and,  if  he  did,  he 
would  proceed  against  him  according  to  law.  Mr.  Asbury 
informed  him  who  he  was,  and  that  he  came  to  preach,  and 
would  preach ;  and  wished  to  know  if  he  had  authority  over 
the  consciences  of  the  people,  or  was  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  charged  Mr.  Asbury  with  making  a  schism.  Mr.  A. 
replied  that  he  did  not  draw  people  from  the  church,  and 
asked  him  if  his  church  was  open  for  him  to  preach  in  ;  and 
further  told  him,  he  came  to  help  him.     Mr.  Read  replied 


86  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772 

that  he  had  not  hired  him  for  an  assistant,  and  did  not 
want  his  help ;  he  also  charged  Mr.  Asbury  with  hinder- 
ing people  from  their  work.  Mr.  A.  wished  to  know  if 
fairs  and  horse-races  did  not  hinder  them ;  and,  that  he  came 
to  turn  sinners  to  God.  Mr.  R.  wished  to  know  if  he  could 
not  do  that  as  well  as  Mr.  A.  After  Mr.  Asbury  went  into 
the  house,  and  began  to  preach,  and  urge  the  people  to 
repent,  and  turn  from  their  transgressions,  Mr.  R.  came  into 
the  house,  in  a  great  rage,  endeavoring  to  prevent  his  preach- 
ing. After  the  service  was  over,  Mr.  Read  went  out,  and 
told  the  people  they  did  wrong  in  coming  to  hear  him ;  and 
raised  other  false  objections ;  but,  all  his  efforts  did  not  stop 
the  people  from  hearing,  nor  prevent  a  Methodist  society 
from  being  raised  up  in  that  place.  Mr.  Asbury  was  the 
first  Methodist  preacher  in  this  neighborhood  ;  his  praise  did 
not  arise  from  his  being  a  pioneer,  but  from  his  skill  in  per- 
fecting the  work  begun  by  others,  by  applying  the  rule  and 
line  of  discipline. 

After  this  controversy  with  Mr.  Read,  Mr.  Asbury  returned 
and  preached  at  John  Randle's.  The  following  Sabbath,  he 
was  preaching  twice  at  Robert  Thompson's  school-house, 
and  once  at  S.  Hersey's,  on  Bohemia.  At  Newcastle,  he 
preached  to  many  people.  At  Mr.  Stedham's,  at  Wil- 
mington, he  had  but  few  hearers.  After  preaching  at  Mr. 
Tussey's,  he  went  to  Isaac  Hersey's,  and  preached  to  many 
people.  Returning  to  Newcastle,  he  met  a  large  congrega- 
tion, and  then  went  to  Bohemia  and  preached  again.  On 
his  Avay  to  the  Susquehanna,  he  was  requested  to  visit  a 
Mrs.  Thomas,  who  was  dropsical.  Crossing  the  river,  he 
came  to  his  quarterly  meeting,  at  J.  Presburv's,  in  Christmas 
week,  1772. 

The  spiritual  and  pecuniary  work  of  the  quarterly  meeting 
having  been  attended  to,  the  preachers  were  appointed  to 
their  work,  by  Mr.  Asbury,  who  was  now  Mr.  Wesley's 
assistant,  as  follows,  viz. : — Brother  Strawbridge  and  Brother 
Owings  to  Frederick  county.  Brother  King,  Brother  Web- 
ster, and  Isaac  Rollins,  on  the  Peninsula;  and  Mr.  Asbury, 
in  Baltimore  and  Hartford  county.  Love  and  peace  reigned 
at  this  meeting.  There  were  twenty  pounds  of  quarterage 
brought  to  this  meeting.  Mr.  Strawbridge  received  eight 
pounds,  and  Messrs.  Asbury  and  King  each  six  pounds. 

At  this  time,  th^re  were  ten  or  twelve  native  exhorters 
and  local  p.reachers  raised  up  in  Maryland,  such  as  Richard 
Owings,  William  Watters,  Richard  Webster,  Nathaniel  Perri- 
gau,  Isaac  Rollins,   Hezekiah   Bonham,  Nicholas  Watters, 


1772.]  IN    AMERICA.  87 

S.  Stephenson,   J.  Presbury,  Philip  Gatch,  and,   probably, 
Aquila  Standford  and  Abraham  Rollins. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


In  the  beginning  of  1772,  the  Rev.  Robert  Williams  went 
to  Norfolk,  Virginia,  where  he  had  the  steps  of  the  com't- 
house  for  his  pulpit,  and  a  rude  audience  to  preach  to.  As 
he  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher  they  had  heard,  and  his 
manners  and  expressions  at  all  times  odd,  for  a  preacher, 
some  were  ready  to  conclude  he  was  a  maniac  ;  but,  after  they 
had  given  him  a  further  hearing  they  formed  a  more  correct 
judgment  of  him.  He  continued  several  weeks  laboring  with 
success  in  and  about  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  and  then  came 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  met  Mr.  Asbury  and  some  others 
of  the  preachers,  giving  a  "flaming  account  of  the  work  in 
Virginia.  Many  of  the  people  were  ripe  for  the  Gospel,  and 
ready  to  receive  us:"  this  was  in  April,  1772. 

Mr.  Pilmoor  followed  him,  and  remained  in  Norfolk,  Ports- 
mouth, and  the  adjacent  parts  of  Virginia,  until  the  end  of 
the  year. 

Having  spent  the  summer  in  the  North,  in  October  of  this 
year,  Mr.  Williams,  taking  with  him  the  Rev.  William  Wat- 
ters,  who  now  began  to  itinerate,  returned  to  Virginia,  where 
they  continued  until  September,  1773.  Leaving  Mr.  Watters 
to  labor  in  and  about  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth,  Mr.  Williams 
moved  down  South-west,  as  providence  opened  the  way. 
During  the  winter  and  following  spring,  he  came  into  the 
region  of  Petersburg,  where  Mr.  Nathaniel  Lee,  (who  had, 
in  the  latter  end  of  1772,  found  the  pearl  of  great  price,) 
lived.  Soon  after,  he  became  acquainted  with  the  evangelical 
Mr.  Jarratt. 

Mr.  William  Watters  was  the  first  native  American  that 
became  a  regular  itinerant  Methodist  preacher.  He  was 
born  in  Baltimore  county,  Maryland,  October  10,  1751. 
His  parents  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England,  to  which 
church  he  was  brought  up.  His  father  died  when  he  was 
two  years  old :  he  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children.  In 
July,  1770,  he  first  heard  the  Methodists  preach,  and  in 
May,  1771,  in  the  same  house  in  which  he  was  born  a  child 
of  wrath,  he  was  born  a  child  of  God,  in  his  twentieth  year. 


88  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1772. 

His  conversion  "was  remarkably  clear :  "  A  divine  light  beamed 
through  his  soul,  and  soon  encircled  him  round,"  as  it  seemed 
to  him,  "exceeding  in  brightness  the  noon-day  sun,  and  he 
rejoiced  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God."  He  cast  in  his  lot 
among  the  Methodists,  and  soon,  like  the  rest  of  them,  was 
heard  praying  without  a  book,  which,  in  that  age  and  place, 
was  regarded  as  a  marvellous  act,  and  in  the  estimation  of 
many,  invested  the  Methodists  with  a  sacredness  of  character 
which  inspired  veneration  for  them.  In  April,  1772,  he 
became  an  exhorter,  and  in  October,  1772,  being  twenty-one 
years  old,  he  left  his  weeping  mother  and  relatives,  and  in 
company  with  Mr.  Williams  set  out  for  Virginia.  Reaching 
Baltimore,  he  preached  his  third  sermon  from  a  text.  They 
journeyed  on  through  Bladensburg,  Georgetown,  Alexandria, 
King  William's  county,  &c.,  offering  Christ  publicly  and 
privately  to  the  people,  many  of  whom  had  never  seen  or 
heard  a  Methodist  preacher  before,  until  they  arrived  in 
Norfolk.  Here  he  was  kindly  received  by  the  Methodists, 
but  found  them  unlike  the  warm  zealous  brethren  that  he  had 
left  in  Maryland.  After  spending  some  time  in  Norfolk  and 
Portsmouth,  he  went  into  the  country  to  form  a  circuit.  After 
spending  nearly  a  year  in  Virginia  he  returned  home.  On 
his  way  home,  it  appears,  that  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
Adams  family  of  Fairfax  county,  into  which  Methodism  was 
introduced  about  this  time ;  and  into  which  he  afterwards 
married.     In  September,  1773,  he  reached  home. 

"An  Irishman,  called  Captain  Patton,  at  Fell's  Point,  was 
the  first  to  open  his  house  ;  this  door  was  opened  about  1772  ; 
and  when  his  house  was  too  small  to  hold  the  hearers,  a  sail- 
loft  at  the  corner  of  Mills  and  Block  streets  was  occupied. 
The  same  year,  Mr.  William  Moore,  of  Baltimoretown,  opened 
his  house,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  Water  and  South 
streets,  for  preaching ;  also,  Mrs.  Triplett,  a  member  of  the 
German  Reformed  Church,  opened  her  dwelling,  at  the  corner 
of  Baltimore  street  and  Triplett's  alley."  At  this  time, 
Methodism  at  the  Point,  was  in  advance  of  that  in  Baltimore- 
town.  See  the  account  of  early  Methodism  in  Baltimore, 
by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Hamilton,  in  the  Quarterly  Review  for 
July,  1856,  from  which  the  above  facts  are  taken. 

Mr.  Asbury's  first  visit  to  Baltimore,  was  about  the  mid- 
dle of  November,  1772 ;  see  his  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  33.  He 
w^ent  in  company  with  John  King,  and  stayed  all  night,  but 
says  nothing  of  preaching,  by  either  of  them.  On  Satur- 
day, 28th  of  the  same  month,  he  says,  "  I  preached  at  the 
Point  the  first  time."     "  Lord's  Day,  30th,  I  rode  to  the  Point 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  89 

and  aftor  preaching  to  a  large  congregation,  returned  to 
town,  and  dined  with  Win.  Moore.  I  preached  in  town  both 
at  three  and  six  o'clock."      See  his  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  34. 

We  will  here  enrol  a  few  names  of  those  who  first  rallied 
around  Methodism  at  Fell's  Point,  and  in  Baltimoretown. 
We  have  already  stated  that  Captain  Patton  was  the  first  to 
open  his  house,  at  the  Point,  for  preaching.  Some  time 
afterwards,  when  the  first  Methodist  chapel  was  founded  at 
the  Point,  we  find  the  worthy  names  of  Jesse  Hollingsworth, 
George  Wells,  Richard  Moale,*  George  Robinson,  and  John 
Woodward,  engaged  in  this  enterprise ;  we  must,  therefore, 
regard  them  as  Methodists,  who,  probably,  belonged  to  the 
Point ;   also,  their  families. 

In  Baltimoretown,  we  have  already  noticed  the  name  of 
Mr.  William  Moore,  who  was  the  first  to  have  Mr.  Asbury 
preach  in  his  house.  He  was  the  first  influential  man  in  the 
town  who  united  with  the  Methodists.  He  became  a  useful 
preacher,  and  did  much  good.  After  some  years,  he  became 
a  lawyer ;  and  towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  settled  in  New 
York  state.  For  some  reason,  he  left  the  Methodists.  His 
son,  Philip  Moore,  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  was  a  warm  friend 
of  the  Methodists  all  his  life. 

There  was  a  Mrs.  Moore,  who  had  a  short  but  brilliant 
career  among  the  Methodists.  "  Some  two  weeks  before  her 
death,  she  was  so  filled  with  the  pure  and  perfect  love  of  God, 
that  henceforth  her  w^ords  were  clothed  with  divine  power, 
and  melted  the  hearts  of  all  that  visited  her ;  she  was  like  a 
living  flame,  longing  to  be  dissolved  and  be  with  Christ. 
Just  before  she  expired,  she  said  to  her  sister,  '  Draw  near, 
and  I  will  tell  you  what  praise,  what  music  I  hear.'  Then 
pausing  aw^hile,  she  said,  '  I  am  just  now  going ;  I  cannot 
stay;  farewell!  farewell!  farewell!'  and  without  sigh  or 
groan,  expired.  Her  death  was  improved  by  a  discourse 
from  Mr.  George  Shadford.  Mr.  Philip  Rogers,  then  a 
young  man,  was  the  next  man  w^ho  stood  up  with  Mr.  Moore 
for  Methodism,  in  Baltimore  ;  these  two  were  right-hand  men 
of  Mr.  Asbury.  Mrs.  Rogers,  the  mother  of  Philip  Rogers, 
was  another  available  supporter  of  the  infant  cause. 

Mr.  Samuel  Owings,  with  the  above-named,  was  a  spiritual 
son  of  Mr.  Asbury,  and  a  leading  man  in  the  beginning. 
His  first  wife  had  been  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed 
Church,  where  she  earnestly  sought  the  comfort  of 'religion, 
until  she  obtained  it.     On  telling  her  minister  of  her  enjoy- 

*  Ellen  Moale  was  the  first  child  born  in  Baltimore.  "AVatson's 
Annals,"  vol.  i.,  p.  513. 

8^- 


90  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

ments,  he  thought  her  beside  herself;  but,  when  she  heard 
the  Methodists,  she  at  once  found  out  that  her  experience 
was  identical  with  theirs ;  she  united  with  them,  and  was  one 
of  the  earlj  female  class-leaders  in  Baltimore. 

We  have  noticed  Mrs.  Triplett,  as  the  second  person  who 
opened  her  house  for  preaching.  As  Bishop  Asburj  per- 
formed the  funeral  solemnities  of  this  "dear  old  friend"  of 
his,  in  1791,  we  must  conclude  that  she  left  the  German  Re- 
formed Church  (though  we  have  not  seen  it  explicitly  de- 
clared), and  was  one  of  the  early  and  zealous  advocates  of 
Methodism. 

Mrs.  Rachel  Hulings  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  most 
useful  females  in  Baltimore,  at  that  early  day.  After  Mr. 
Asbury  had  spent  his  first  Sabbath  in  the  town,  we  learn 
from  his  Journal,  that  she,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Rogers 
and  the  widow  White,  accompanied  him  to  N.  Perrigau's, 
where  he  preached  to  a  large  number  of  people.  Thence  to 
Wm.  Lynch's,  to  whom  he  was  introduced  by  Mrs.  Hulings. 
In  a  subsequent  part  of  his  Journal,  we  find  her,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Asbury,  visiting  the  friends  at  New  Mills,  in  New 
Jersey.  It  appears  that  she  travelled  about  extensively,  aid- 
ing the  good  work. 

Among  Mr.  Asbury's  early  and  valued  friends  in  Balti- 
more, was  a  Mrs.  Chamier.  This  friend  and  supporter  of 
Methodism  went  to  Abraham's  bosom  in  1785 ;  Bishop  As- 
bury officiated  at  her  interment. 

Mrs.  Martha  F.  Allison  joined  the  Methodists  in  1770 ; 
but,  as  it  seems  there  was  no  society  in  Baltimore  so  early, 
we  suppose  she  was  a  member,  at  first,  somewhere  else.  She 
was,  however,  for  several  years,  a  class-leader  among  them 
in  Baltimore.  In  1797,  Bishop  Asbury  preached  her  funeral 
sermon.  She  was  a  woman  of  good  sense,  and  equally  good 
piety. 

At  a  later  date,  there  were  such  names  as  Hawkins,  For- 
nerden,  McCannon,  and  Chamberlin,  who  were  distinguished 
as  leaders  of  classes  and  prayer  meetings  in  Baltimore. 

It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  1773,  that  the  first 
classes  were  formed  in  Baltimore.  Mr.  Asbury  says,  "  Janu- 
ary 3d,  1773 — after  meeting  the  society,  I  settled  a  class  of 
men  ;  and  on  the  following  evening  a  class  of  women."  He 
appointed  one  of  the  females  to  lead  the  women ;  but  which 
of  them;  we  cannot  say.  As  for  the  men,  he  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  make  a  suitable  selection ;  and  we  hear  him  saying, 
"  The  little  society  has  suffered  for  want  of  a  suitable  person 
to  lead  it ;  surely  there  will  be  good  done  here,  or  the  place 


1773,]  IN    AMERICA.  91 

must  be  given  up."  Such  was  his  doubt  of  Baltimore,  which 
has  since  been  considered  the  citadel  of  Methodism. 

About  the  month  of  November,  1773,  one  year  after  Mr. 
Asbury  first  visited  Baltimore,  he,  "  assisted  by  Jesse  Hol- 
lingsworth,  George  Wells,  Richard  Moale,  George  Robinson, 
and  John  Woodward,  purchased  (at  five  shillings)  the  lot, 
sixty  feet  on  Strawberry  alley,  and  seventy-five  feet  on  Fleet 
street,  for  a  house  of  worship — where  the  church  now  stands; 
the  only  original  edifice  of  the  kind  of  religious  denomina- 
tion in  Baltimore.  The  following  year,  Mr.  Wm.  Moore 
and  Mr.  Philip  Rogers  took  up  two  lots  of  ground,  and 
erected  a  church  in  Lovely  Lane.  Which  of  these  two 
churches  was  first  finished,  is  not  quite  certain  ;  tradition 
says  the  latter.  The  Lovely  Lane  Church  was  founded  April 
18th,  1774.  See  Rev.  W.  Hamilton's  article  for  the  Quar- 
terly, for  July,  1856. 

The  first  Conference  which  met  in  Baltimore,  in  1776, 
sat  in  the  Lovely  Lane  Chapel ;  and,  as  Brother  Hamilton 
calculates,  it  was  made  up  of  twenty-three  itinerants.  It 
was  in  this  chapel  the  Conference  of  sixty  preachers  sat 
when  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  took  being.  We  learn 
from  Dr.  Coke's  Journal,  that  this  place  of  worship  was  re- 
fitted up  for  this  important  convocation  ;  some  of  the  seats, 
which  before  were  only  common  benches,  had  backs  put  to 
them ;  a  gallery  was  put  in  it ;  and,  for  the  first  time,  it  had 
a  stove  in  it  to  warm  it.  This  case,  as  well  as  others  that 
might  be  cited,  shows  that  the  early  Methodists,  when  met 
together  for  worship,  did  not  depend  upon  material  fire  to 
warm  them,  but  they  sought  the  mystic  fire  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  In  1785,  the  Lovely  Lane  Chapel  was  sold,  and 
through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Coke,  the  brethren  in  Baltimore 
were  prevailed  on  to  erect  the  Light  Street  Church. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


"Memoirs  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Gatch,"  prepared  by  the 
Hon.  John  M'Lean,  LL.D.,  throws  much  light  on  the  early 
history  of  Methodism  in  Maryland,  New  Jersey,  Virginia, 
and  Ohio.  We  shall  make  use  of  it  in  order  to  bring  the 
histoi-y  of  Methodism  consecutively  before  the  reader.  . 

About  1725,  the   Gatch  family  emigrated  from  Prussia,  \ 
and  settled  near  Baltimore,  in  Maryland.     In   1727,  the    i 


92  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

patriarch  of  this  family  obtained  from  the  Hon.  Leonard 
Calvert,  governor  of  the  province  of  Maryland,  a  passport, 
securing  to  him  the  privilege  of  free  travelling  in  the  pro- 
vince. In  1737,  he  purchased  a  farm  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Baltimoretown,  which  was  owned  by  his  son,  George  Gatch, 
the  father  of  Philip  Gatch,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The 
farm,  retaining  its  name,  "The  Gatch  Farm,"  is  still  in  the 
family,  and  on  it  still  stands  the  "  Gatch  Church,"  the  first 
Methodist  meeting-house  built  in  the  neighborhood. 

The  father  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Gatch  served  a  fixed  time 
to  pay  for  his  passage  to  America.  Other  boys  came  to  this 
country  at  the  same  time  and  by  the  same  means ;  they  were 
cruelly  beaten  by  their  owners  for  no  other  offence  than  con- 
versing together  in  their  vernacular  tongue.  He  married  a 
Miss  Burgin,  whose  ancestors  came  from  Burgundy,  and 
settled  in  Maryland,  near  Georgetown,  in  Kent  county,  not 
far  from  Sassafras  Biver.  They  were  members  of  the 
National  Church — what  is  now  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church. 

The  Bev.  Philip  Gatch  was  born  in  1751,  and  was  seven 
months  and  two  weeks  older  than  the  Bev.  William  Watters, 
who  w^as  born  on  the  16th  of  October  of  the  same  year. 
These  two  were  the  first  native  American  Methodist  itine- 
rants. 

Mr.  Gatch  says,  "  I  learned  to  read  when  quite  young ; 
took  delight  in  my  books,  especially  those  which  gave  a  his- 
tory of  the  times  of  pious  persons.  A  sister  older  than 
myself  used  to  watch  over  me  with  tender  regard.  Once, 
when  I  used  a  bad  word,  the  meaning  of  which  I  scarcely 
understood,  she  reproved  me  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  a 
deep  and  lasting  impression  on  my  feelings ;  my  conscience 
was  tender,  and  I  felt  great  pain  of  soul  on  account  of  it. 
I  seldom  omitted  my  prayers  ;  hated  sinful  acts  in  general ; 
feared  the  Lord,  and  wished  to  serve  Him — but  knew  not 
how ;  all  was  dark ;  priests  and  people,  in  this  respect,  were 
alike. 

"  When  in  my  seventeenth  year  my  mind  became  less  con- 
cerned for  my  future  state  than  formerly.  This  was  produced 
by  vain  and  wicked  associations  ;  but  God,  in  his  mercy,  soon 
arrested  me  in  this  dangerous  situation.  I  was  prostrated 
upon  a  bed  of  affliction,  and  a  beloved  sister,  about  the  same 
time,  was  called  into  eternity.  Soon  after  this  an  uncle 
died  suddenly.  These  visitations  greatly  alarmed  me.  The 
subject  of  death  and  judgment  rested  with  great  weight  upon 
my  mind.     These  impressions  were  strengthened  by  reading 


1772.]  IN    AMERICA.  93 

the  Whole  Duty  of  Man  and  Russel's  Seven  Sermons.  I 
mourned  in  secret  places,  often  wished  I  had  never  been  born. 
I  could  see  no  way  of  escape  ;  death  and  judgment,  and,  what 
was  still  worse,  a  never-ending  eternity  of  pain  and  misery, 
were  constantly  before  me.  At  this  time  the  state  of  my 
mind  became  visible  to  others.  My  father  became  concerned 
about  my  situation  ;  but  such  was  his  ignorance  of  spiritual 
things,  that  all  he  could  do  for  me  was  to  caution  me  against 
carrying  the  matter  too  far.  Having  no  one  to  instruct  me, 
a  wicked  and  deceitful  heart  to  contend  with,  vain  and  un- 
godly examples  before  me,  I  was  constantly  led  astray. 

"  By  experience  I  learned  that  the  pleasures  of  sin  were 
delusive,  of  short  duration,  and  that  they  always  left  a  sting 
behind  them.  I  found,  too,  that  my  fallen  and  corrupt  nature 
was  strengthened  by  the  indulgence  of  evil  propensities.  To 
counteract  these,  I  determined  to  try  a  course  of  self-denial. 
I  resolved  to  break  down  the  carnal  mind  by  crucifying  the 
flesh,  with  its  lusts  and  affections.  I  found  this  course  to  be 
of  great  service  to  me.  All  this  time  I  had  not  heard  a 
Gospel  sermon.  I  had  read  some  of  the  writings  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  and  had  a  great  desire  to  attend  their 
meetings,  but  had  not  the  opportunity.  I  felt  that  I  had  lost 
my  standing  in  the  Established  Church  by  not  performing 
the  obligations  of  my  induction  into  it,  and  this  was  a  source 
of  great  distress  to  me.  I  desired  rest  to  my  soul,  but  had 
no  one  to  take  me  by  the  hand  and  lead  me  to  the  fountain 
of  life.  From  the  errors  of  my  ways  it  seemed  I  could  not 
escape. 

"  I  was  alarmed  by  dreams,  by  sickness,  and  by  various  other 
means,  which  were  sent  by  God,  in  his  mercy,  for  my  good. 
Indeed,  from  a  child,  the  Spirit  of  grace  strove  with  me ;  but 
great  was  the  labor  of  mind  that  I  felt,  and  I  did  not  know 
the  way  to  be  saved  from  my  guilt  and  wretchedness.  It 
pleased  God,  however,  to  send  the  Gospel  into  our  neighbor- 
hood, in  January,  1772,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Methodists.  Previous  to  this  time,  Robert  Strawbridge,  a 
local  preacher  from  Ireland,  had  settled  between  Baltimore 
and  Fredericktown,  and  under  his  ministry  three  others  were 
raised  up — Richard  Owen,  Sater  Stephenson,  and  Nathan 
Perigo.  Nathan  Perigo  was  the  first  to  introduce  Methodist 
preaching  in  the  neighborhood  where  I  lived.  He  possessed 
great  zeal,  and  was  strong  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  I  was 
near  him  when  he  opened  the  exercises  of  the  first  meeting 
I  attended.  His  prayer  alarmed  me  much ;  I  never  had 
witnessed  such  energy  nor  heard  such  expressions  in  prayer 


94  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

before.  I  was  afraid  that  God  would  send  some  judgment 
upon  the  congregation  for  my  being  at  such  a  place.  I 
attempted  to  make  my  escape,  but  was  met  by  a  person  at 
the  door  who  proposed  to  leave  with  me  ;  but  I  knew  he  was 
wicked,  and  that  it  would  not  do  to  follow  his  counsd,  so  I 
returned. 

"  The  sermon  was  accompanied  to  my  understanding  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  I  was  stripped  of  all  my  self-righteousness. 
It  was  to  me  as  filthy  rags  when  the  Lord  made  known  to 
me  my  condition.  I  saw  myself  altogether  sinful  and  helpless, 
while  the  dread  of  hell  seized  my  guilty  conscience.  Three 
weeks  from  this  time  I  attended  preaching  again  at  the  same 
place.  My  distress  became  very  great ;  my  relatives  were  all 
against  me,  and  it  was  hard  to  endure  my  father's  opposition. 
He  asked  me  what  the  matter  was,  but  I  made  him  no  answer, 
as  I  thought  others  saw  my  case  as  I  felt  it.  He  said  I  was 
going  beside  myself,  and  should  go  to  hear  the  Methodists 
no  more ;  that  his  house  should  not  hold  two  religions.  I 
thought  this  was  no  great  objection,  fearing  there  was  little 
religion  in  the  house ;  but  I  made  no  reply,  still  intending  to 
attend  preaching  as  I  should  have  opportunity. 

"It  afterward  occurred  to  me  that  I  had  heard  of  the  Meth- 
odists driving  some  persons  mad,  and  began  to  fear  it  might 
be  the  case  with  me.  I  had  often  been  distressed  on  account 
of  sin,  but  I  had  never  realized  before  the  condition  I  was 
then  in.  This  gave  the  enemy  the  advantage  over  me,  and 
I  began  to  resist  conviction,  determining,  however,  that  I 
would  live  a  religious  life ;  but  0  how  soon  did  I  fail  in  my 
purpose  !  I  was  about  five  weeks  in  this  deluded  state.  0 
the  patience  and  long-suff'ering  of  God  !  He  might  in  justice 
have  cut  me  down  as  a  cumberer  of  the  ground.  This  I  felt 
and  feared.  I  was  aroused  from  seeing  a  man  who  was  very 
much  intoxicated,  in  great  danger  of  losing  his  life,  and,  as 
I  supposed,  of  going  to  hell.  The  anguish  of  my  soul  now 
became  greater  than  I  can  describe. 

"I  again  went  to  hear  Mr.  Perigo  preach,  and  felt  con- 
founded under  the  word.  The  man  at  whose  house  the  meeting 
was  had  found  peace.  After  preaching  he  followed  me  into 
the  yard,  and  while  conversing  with  me  his  words  reached  my 
heart ;  it  was  tendered,  and  I  wept.  Before  I  got  home  my 
father  heard  what  had  taken  place,  and  he,  with  several 
others,  attacked  me ;  but  the  Lord  helped  me,  so  that  with 
the  Scriptures  I  was  enabled  to  withstand  them. 

"My  friends  now  sought  in  good  earnest  to  draw  me  awny 
from  the  Methodists,  bringing  many  false  accusations  against 


1772.]  IN    AMERICA.  95 

them  ;  but  I  concluded,  be  it  as  it  may  be  with  them,  it  was 
not  well  with  me.  My  cry  was  day  and  night  to  God  for 
mercy.  I  feared  that  there  was  no  mercy  for  me,  I  had 
neglected  so  many  calls  from  God,  that  I  feared  that  he  had 
now  given  me  over  to  hardness  of  heart,  and  that  my  day  of 
grace  was  for  ever  gone.  I  continued  under  these  awful 
apprehensions  for  some  time. 

"  On  the  26th  of  April  I  attended  a  prayer  meeting.  After 
remaining  some  time,  I  gave  up  all  hopes,  and  left  the  house. 
I  felt  that  I  was  too  bad  to  remain  where  the  people  were 
worshipping  God.  At  length  a  friend  came  out  to  me,  and 
requested  me  to  return  to  the  meeting ;  believing  him  to  be 
a  good  man,  I  returned  with  him,  and,  under  the  deepest 
exercise  of  mind,  bowed  myself  before  the  Lord,  and  said  in 
my  heart.  If  thou  wilt  give  me  power  to  call  on  thy  name, 
how  thankful  will  I  be  !  Immediately  I  felt  the  power  of 
God  to  affect  my  body  and  soul.  It  went  through  my  whole 
system.  I  felt  like  crying  aloud.  God  said,  by  his  Spirit, 
to  my  soul,  '  My  power  is  present  to  heal  thy  soul,  if  thou 
wilt  but  believe.'  I  instantly  submitted  to  the  operation  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  my  poor  soul  was  set  at  liberty.  I 
felt  as  if  I  had  got  into  a  new  world.  I  was  certainly  brought 
from  hell's  dark  door,  and  made  nigh  unto  God  by  the  blood 
of  Jesus. 

"  '  Tongue  cannot  express 

The  SAveet  comfort  and  peace 

Of  a  soul  in  its  earliest  love.' 

"Ere  I  was  aware  I  was  shouting  aloud,  and  should  have 
shouted  louder  if  I  had  had  more  strength.  I  was  the  first 
person  known  to  shout  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The 
order  of  God  differs  from  the  order  of  man.  He  knows  how 
to  do  his  own  work,  and  will  do  it  in  his  own  way,  though  it 
often  appears  strange  to  us.  Indeed,  it  is  a  strange  work 
to  convert  a  precious  soul.  I  had  no  idea  of  the  greatness 
of  the  change,  till  the  Lord  gave  me  to  experience  it.  A 
grateful  sense  of  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  to  my  poor 
soul  overwhelmed  me.  I  tasted  and  saw  that  the  Lord  was 
good. 

"  Two  others  found  peace  the  same  evening,  which  made 
seven  conversions  in  the  neighborhood.  I  returned  home 
happy  in  the  love  of  God.  I  felt  great  concern  for  my 
parents,  but  I  knew  not  what  would  be  the  result  of  my 
change.  My  father  had  threatened  to  drive  me  from  home, 
and  I  knew  that  he  was  acquainted  with  what  had  taken 


96  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

place  the  night  before,  for  he  heard  me  in  my  exercises  near 
three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  knew  my  voice.  But  God  has 
his  way  in  the  whirlwind,  and  all  things  obey  him.  Up  to 
this  time  my  father  was  permitted  to  oppose  me,  but  now 
God  said  by  his  providence  to  the  boisterous  waves  of  perse- 
cution, Thou  shalt  go  no  farther.  He  said  to  me,  while  under 
conviction,  '  There  is  your  eldest  brother ;  he  has  better 
learning  than  you,  and  if  there  is  anything  good  in  it,  why 
does  he  not  find  it  out?'  That  brother  was  present  when  I 
received  the  blessing,  and  became  powerfully  converted.  My 
father  inquired  of  him  the  next  morning  what  had  taken 
place  at  the  meeting ;  he  gave  him  the  particulars,  and 
wound  up  by  saying,  if  they  did  not  all  experience  the  same 
change  they  would  go  to  hell.  This  was  a  nail  in  a  sure 
place.  My  father  had  dreamed,  a  short  time  before,  that  a 
sprout  grew  up  through  his  house,  and  that  its  progress  was 
so  rapid  he  became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  house ;  he 
wanted  to  remove  it,  but  was  afraid  to  cut  it  down  lest  the 
house  should  be  destroyed  by  the  fall.  He  found  an  inter- 
pretation to  his  dream  in  what  was  taking  place  in  the  family. 
Mr.  Perigo  had  made  an  appointment  for  Monday  evening, 
half  way  betw^een  his  own  house  and  my  father's,  for  the 
accommodation  of  two  neighborhoods.  At  this  time  we  had 
no  circuit  preaching,  and  he  began  to  be  pressed  by  the 
many  calls  made  on  him  by  those  who  were  perishing  for  the 
bread  of  life. 

"  My  brother  and  I  attended  the  meeting,  and  it  was  a 
blessed  time ;  several  w^ere  converted.  At  the  request  of 
my  brother,  Mr.  Perigo  made  an  appointment  to  preach  at 
my  father's  on  the  ensuing  Thursday  evening.  My  brother 
proposed  to  me  to  have  prayers  with  the  family  on  Tuesday 
evening.  I  felt  diffident  in  taking  up  the  cross,  but  told  him 
if  he  could  induce  two  of  the  neighbors  to  come  in  and  join 
us,  I  would  try.  The  neighbors  came  at  the  time  appointed ; 
the  family  were  called  together  as  orderly  as  if  they  had 
always  been  accustomed  to  family  worship.  I  read  two 
chapters,  and  then  exhorted  them  to  look  to  God  in  prayer, 
assuring  them  that  he  w^ould  not  suffer  them  to  be  deceived. 
The  Lord  blessed  me  with  a  spirit  of  prayer,  and  he  made 
manifest  his  power  among  us.  I  rose  from  my  knees  and 
spoke  to  them  some  time,  and  it  had  a  gracious  effect  upon 
the  family.     Thenceforward  we  attended  to  family  prayer. 

"  Mr.  Perigo,  according  to  his  appointment,  preached,  and 
spent  some  time  in  conversation  with  my  parents.  He  formed 
two  classes  in  the  neighborhood,  and  established  a  prayer 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  97 

meeting,  at  which  both  classes  came  together.  By  this  time 
many  had  experienced  religion.  My  parents,  and  most  of 
their  children,  a  brother-in-law,  and  two  of  his  sisters,  in 
about  five  weeks,  had  joined  the  church.  The  work  was 
great,  for  it  was  the  work  of  God.  In  our  prayer  and  class 
meetings  I  sometimes  gave  a  word  of  exhortation,  and  was 
blessed  in  so  doing.  After  some  time,  my  mind  became 
exercised  on  the  subject  of  extending  my  sphere  of  action, 
and  becoming  more  public  in  my  exercises.  When  I  first 
began  to  speak  a  little  in  our  neighborhood  meetings,  I 
entertained  no  such  thoughts ;  but  now  my  impressions  be- 
came so  strong  that  my  mind  was  thrown  into  great  conflict. 
I  felt  such  great  weakness  that  to  proceed  appeared  to  be 
impossible  ;  to  draw  back  was  a  gloomy  thought.  My  com- 
forts failed,  and  I  sank  into  a  state  of  despondency.  I 
endeavored  to  stifle  those  impressions,  but  they  would  return 
with  increased  force,  and  again  a  sense  of  my  weakness 
would  sink  my  feelings  lower  than  ever.  I  knew  not  what 
to  do.  I  read  the  first  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  portions  of 
which  seemed  to  suit  my  condition.  I  then  concluded  if  the 
Lord  would  sanctify  me,  I  should  be  better  prepared  to 
speak  his  word.  I  prayed  that  the  impression  to  speak  the 
word  of  the  Lord  might  be  removed  from  my  mind,  and  that 
he  would  give  me  to  feel  the  need  of  being  sanctified.  My 
prayer  was  heard,  and  he  granted  my  request.  I  labored 
under  a  sense  of  want,  but  not  of  guilt.  I  needed  strength 
of  soul.  God  knew  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  tarry  in 
Jerusalem  till  endued  with  power  from  on  high.  The  struggle 
was  severe  but  short.  I  spent  the  most  of  my  time  in  prayer, 
but  sometimes  only  with  groans  that  I  could  not  utter.  I 
had  neither  read  nor  heard  much  on  the  subject,  till  in  the 
midst  of  my  distress  a  person  put  into  my  hands  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's sermon  on  Salvation  by  Faith.  The  person  knew 
nothing  of  my  exercise  of  mind. 

"  I  thought  if  salvation  was  to  be  obtained  by  faith,  why 
not  now  ?  I  prayed,  but  the  Comforter  tarried.  I  ]orayed 
again,  and  still  the  answer  was  delayed.  God  had  his  way 
in  the  work;  my  faith  was  strengthened  and  my  hope 
revived.  I  told  my  brother  that  I  believed  God  would  bless 
me  that  night  in  family  prayer.  He  knew  that  my  mind 
was  in  a  great  struggle,  but  did  not  know  the  pursuit  of  my 
heart.  In  the  evening,  while  my  brother-in-law  prayed  with 
the  family,  a  great  trembling  seized  me.  After  it  had  sub- 
sided, I  was  called  upon  to  pray.  I  commenced,  and  after 
a  few  minutes  I  began  to  cry  to  God  for  my  own  soul,  as  if 
9 


98  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

there  was  not  another  to  be  saved  or  lost.  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  came  down  upon  me,  and  the  opening  heavens  shone 
around  me.  By  faith  I  saw  Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father.  I  felt  such  a  weight  of  glory  that  I  fell  with  my 
face  to  the  floor,  and  the  Lord  said  by  his  Spirit,  '  You  are 
now  sanctified,  seek  to  grow  in  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.'  Gal. 
V.  22,  23.  This  work  and  the  instruction  of  Divine  truth 
were  sealed  on  my  soul  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  My  joy  was 
full.  I  related  to  others  what  God  had  done  for  me.  This 
was  in  July,  a  little  more  than  two  months  after  I  had 
received  the  Spirit  of  justification." 

*  ;k  *  *  *  ;jj 

"  In  the  course  of  the  fall  Mr.  Asbury  formed  and 
travelled  a  circuit  that  included  our  neighborhood.  He  put 
into  my  hands  Mr.  Wesley's  Thoughts  on  Christian  Perfec- 
tion. This  work  was  made  a  blessing  to  me.  I  found  in 
Mr.  Asbury  a  friend  in  whom  I  could  ever  after  repose  the 
most  implicit  confidence.  On  entering  upon  what  I  was  now 
fully  convinced  was  my  duty,  I  concluded  to  go  out  of  the 
neighborhood  of  my  acquaintance,  as  it  would  be  less  em- 
barrassing to  me.  I  had  heard  of  a  settlement  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  concluded  to  make  my  way  to  it.  I  made  known 
my  purpose  to  Mr.  Perigo.  His  only  reply  was,  '  If  you 
meet  with  encouragement  you  may  make  an  appointment  for 
me.'  I  received  this  as  a  sort  of  license,  and  immediately 
set  out,  accompanied  by  two  friends.  We  reached  the  place, 
and  applied  to  John  Lawson,  who  was  reported  to  be  the 
best  man  in  the  settlement,  and  most  likely  to  give  the  privi- 
lege of  holding  meetings  at  his  house.  This,  however,  he 
refused  on  doctrinal  grounds,  he  being  a  Calvinist.  This 
was  a  sore  trial  to  me.  He,  however,  extended  to  us  the 
hospitalities  of  his  house. 

"  We  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation  with  him  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  but  mostly  of  a  controversial  character. 
While  at  his  house  one  of  my  companions  fell  in  with  a  man 
who  lived  near  by,  and  stated  to  him  my  case.  He  said  I 
should  be  welcome  to  hold  meetings  at  his  house.  An 
appointment  for  me  was  circulated  for  the  next  day,  it  being 
the  Sabbath.  This  was  some  relief  to  my  mind.  In  the 
morning  there  was  a  severe  snow-storm,  which  was  gratify- 
ing to  me,  as  I  supposed  there  would  be  but  a  small  number 
at  the  meeting.  The  people,  however,  began  to  assemble 
rapidly,  and  I  concluded  they  were  the  largest  persons  I  had 
ever  seen.  I  arose,  gave  out  a  hymn,  and  the  friends  who 
accompanied  me  sang  it.     I  then  prayed  and  proceeded  to 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  99 

give  an  exhortation.  The  Lord  gave  me  great  strength  of 
soul.  I  arose  above  my  weakness,  and  felt  my  way  was  of 
God. 

"  I  made  an  appointment  for  Mr.  Perigo,  visited  two  other 
places,  and  returned  home.  This  was  in  the  latter  part  of 
1772.  I  now  gave  out  an  appointment  in  ray  father's  neigh- 
borhood, and  felt  that  I  was  called  to  exercise  the  gift  of 
exhortation.  I  had  many  calls  to  attend  meetings  in  the 
surrounding  country ;  for  in  those  days  the  word  of  the  Lord 
was  precious.  The  day  before  Mr.  Perigo  should  start  to 
fill  his  appointment  in  Pennsylvania,  he  came  to  my  father's 
to  let  me  know  he  had  to  attend  court,  and  could  not  go. 
He  did  not  ask  me  to  go,  but  I  concluded  that  I  would  try 
it  again.  I  set  out  with  another  lad,  and  the  first  night  we 
lodged  with  a  man  who  knew  our  parents.  The  family  was 
kind  to  us,  and  many  inquiries  were  made  of  us.  The  man 
was  orderly,  and,  like  Lydia,  received  the  word  of  the  Lord 
with  his  household. 

"  After  we  had  prayed  with  the  family  we  were  taken  to 
an  out-house  to  sleep,  which  was  anything  but  comfortable. 
Flesh  and  blood  complained,  but  the  Lord  said  to  me  that 
^' the  Son  of  man  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  Most 
unexpectedly  this  was  made  to  me  one  of  the  sweetest 
night's  lodgings  I  ever  enjoyed.  Thus  can  God  overrule  for 
good  prospects  the  most  discouraging.  The  next  day,  on 
our  way  to  the  appointment,  we  overtook  John  Lawson  and 
a  large  company  with  him.  The  congregation  w^as  large, 
and  gave  good  attention  to  the  things  that  were  spoken.  I 
had  a  small  circuit  in  this  part  of  the  country  till  the  next 
fall.  The  people  had  different  professions  among  them,  but 
little  religion.  They  were  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd. 
They  submitted  to  the  Gospel  yoke,  and  the  Lord  raised  up 
two  preachers  from  among  them." 

"In  the  summer  of  1772  there  was  a  strange  phenomenon 
in  the  heavens.  A  light  appeared  to  break  through  the  sky 
in  the  east,  to  the  appearance  of  the  eye  covering  a  space  as 
large  as  a  common  house,  varying  in  its  difi'erent  hues.  This 
light  became  more  frequent  and  awful  in  its  appearance  in 
the  progress  of  time.  Sometimes  it  would  present  a  sublime 
aspect.  A  pillar  or  cloud  of  smoke  would  seem  to  lie  beneath, 
while  frightful  flames  would  appear  to  rise  to  a  great  height, 
and  spread  over  an  extensive  space ;  at  other  times  it  would 
look  like  streams  of  blood  falling  to  the  earth. 

"While  God  was  thus  revealing  his  glory  and  majesty  to 


100  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1772. 

the  natural  eye,  there  was  great  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  Many  precious  souls  were 
converted ;  many  preachers  were  reared  up  who  run  to  and 
fro ;  and  the  knowledge  of  God  was  greatly  increased  in  the 
earth.  I  could  but  think  there  was  in  the  prophecy  of  Joel 
an  allusion  to  these  times — chap.  ii.  verse  28 — 'I  will  pour 
out  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters 
shall  prophesy  ;  your  old  men  will  dream  dreams,  your  young 
men  shall  see  visions  ;'  29,  'And  also  upon  the  servants,'  &c. ; 
30,  '  And  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heavens,  and  in  the  earth 
blood  and  fire  and  pillars  of  smoke.'  " 


CHAPTER  XV. 


The  Rev.  Robert  Williams  spent  the  principal  part  of  the 
year  1773  in  Virginia,  preaching  with  great  success.  He 
may  have  crossed  the  southern  line  of  Virginia,  and  preached 
in  North  Carolina.  He  also  formed  several  societies  in 
Virginia,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  in  addition  to  the  two  or 
three  he  formed  in  1772. 

In  the  beginning  of  1773,  Mr.  Pilmoor  went  south  as  far 
as  Charleston,  Savannah,  and  Mr.  Whitefield's  orphan  house. 
While  he  was  absent  from  Norfolk,  his  place  was  filled  by 
the  Rev.  William  Watters.  At  that  time  Norfolk  was  con- 
sidered a  place  of  uncommon  wickedness ;  and,  when  the 
town  was  burned  by  the  savage  Dunmore  in  1775,  many 
were  disposed  to  regard  it  as  a  judgment  for  its  many  sins. 
When  Mr.  Pilmoor  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  on  his  return 
from  the  South,  he  heard  two  men  swearing  horribly.  He 
lifted  up  his  hands  and  exclaimed :  "  If  I  had  come  here 
blindfolded  I  should  know  I  was  near  Norfolk."  While 
Mr.  Pilmoor  was  absent,  the  church  minister  of  Norfolk 
attacked,  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Methodists,  in  a  sermon  on  ''Be  not  righteous  overmuch." 
He  told  his  hearers  that  he  knew  from  experience  the  evil 
of  "being  over  righteous.  This  was  what  the  people,  who 
knew  his  manner  of  life,  had  not  suspected.  An  appoint- 
ment was  made  by  Mr.  Pilmoor  to  preach  on  "  Be  not  over 
much  wicked,"  as  an  offset  to  the  parson's  discourse.  He 
had  a  large  audience.  After  telling  them  that  a  certain 
divine  of  that  town  had  given  a  solemn  caution  to  the  people 
against  being  over  righteous,  he  lifted  up  his  hands,  and 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  101 

with  a  very  significant  countenance,  exclaimed:  "And  in 
Norfolk  he  has  given  this  caution !"  The  action  and  excla- 
mation being  suited  to  each  other,  they  came  down  like  an 
avalanche  on  the  congregation,  and,  with  the  sequel  of  the 
discourse,  swept  away  the  effect  of  the  parson's  sermon. 

We  left  Mr.  Asbury  at  the  Christmas  quarterly  meeting 
at  Brother  Presbury's.  Let  us  follow  him  a  little  further  in 
his  labors  in  1773.  In  the  region  of  Mr.  Dallam's,  he  heard 
the  Rev.  Mr.  West  preach,  and  received  the  sacrament  at  his 
hands.  Beginning  at  Bush  Forrest,  he  went  to  Barnet 
Preston's,  widow  Bond's,  Aquilla  Standford's,  J.  Moore's, 
J.  Baker's,  Mr.  Sinclair's,  Mr.  Chamberlain's,  Mr.  Gallo- 
way's, John  Murry's  (a  new  appointment),  Mr.  Colgate's, 
Captain  Patton's  (at  the  Point),  Baltimore,  S.  Stephenson's, 
N.  Perrigau's,  Simms's,  Samuel  Merryman's,  J.  Presbury's, 
Daniel  Ruff's  (this  is  the  first  time  we  meet  with  this  worthy 
name),  Josiah  Dallam's,  Moses  Brown's,  Samuel  Litten's 
(this  brother,  or  one  of  the  same  name,  entertained  Bishop 
Asbury,  in  the  region  of  Pittsburgh,  several  years  after  this 
date),  and  Samuel  Forward's  ;  this  was  one  round  on  his 
circuit  of  about  twenty-four  appointments.  His  congrega- 
tions were  generally  large,  and  his  meetings  were  often  full 
of  spiritual  life.  There  was  little,  if  any,  discord  among 
the  Maryland  Methodists  at  that  day ;  and  the  young  con- 
verts were  warm  in  their  first  love ;  and,  Mr.  Asbury  found 
it  good  to  be  among  them. 

He  began  his  second  round  at  Barnet  Preston's,  and  went 
next  to  J.  Dallam's,  then  to  Bond's,  Mr.  Duke's  (a  new 
place,  this  was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  Duke),  James 
Baker's,  Chamberlain's,  Galloway's,  Murry's,  Colgate's, 
J.  Owing's,  Point,  Baltimore,  Perrigau's,  Gatch's,  Neck, 
Joppa,  Presbury's,  Ruff's,  Deer  Creek,  Forward's  (at  this 
time  he  licensed  William  Duke,  a  lad  of  seventeen  years,  to 
exhort),  Bush  Forrest,  Wm.  Bond's  (a  new  place),  Mrs. 
Bond's,  and  Standford's. 

About  the  middle  of  February,  1773,  Mr.  Asbury  em- 
ployed Mr.  Moreton  to  draw  up  a  deed  for  the  house  in 
Gunpowder  Neck  ;  this  was  the  third  place  of  worship 
founded  by  the  Methodists  in  Maryland. 

March  13.  Meeting  John  King  and  R.  Webster  at 
Mr.  Dallam's,  they  took  sweet  counsel  together,  and  Mr. 
Asbury  crossed  the  river  for  the  Peninsula,  preaching  at 
Thompson's,  Hersey's,  Dixon's,  at  Georgetown  cross-roads 
(a  new  place),  Randel's,  Hinson's  neighborhood,  Newcastle, 
Wilmington,  and  Isaac  Hersey's.  Then  into  Chester  county, 
9* 


102  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1773. 

into  new  ground  that  had  just  been  broken  up  by  King, 
Webster,  and  Rollins.  Marlborough,  Thomas  Ellis's,  Wood- 
ward's, on  Brandywine ;  Samuel  Hooper's,  Tussey's,  and 
Christiana  Bridge.  Returning  by  Bohemia,  he  crossed  the 
Susquehanna,  and  held  quarterly  meeting  on  the  western 
shore.  Strawbridge,  Owen,  King,  Webster,  Rollins,  and 
the  whole  body  of  exhorters  and  official  members  were 
present ;  and,  to  crown  all,  the  power  of  the  Most  High  was 
among  them  in  a  glorious  manner. 

Mr.  Asbury  started  for  Philadelphia,  preaching  at  some 
new  places,  such  as  Red  Clay  Creek,  and  Mount  Pleasant, 
above  Wilmington. 

He  continued  his  course  as  far  as  New  York  and  Newtown, 
on  Long  Island,  looking  after  the  interests  of  Methodism ; 
also,  into  New  Jersey,  where  he  saw  the  Methodists  found 
their  first  preaching-house.  See  his  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  48. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  preachers  were  planting  Metho- 
dism in  Chester  county.  Pa.  What  is  now  called  the  Grove 
Meeting,  was  founded ;  and,  he  speaks  of  preaching  in  the 
same  neighborhood.  Soon  after  he  preached  in  Germantown, 
for  the  first  time. 

Daring  the  winter  and  spring  of  1773,  Messrs.  Boardman 
and  Wright  were  laboring,  alternately,  in  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania ;  also,  in  New  Jersey,  where  they  were  assisted 
by  Mr.  Whitworth. 

In  June,  of  this  year,  Mr.  Asbury  formed  a  society  at  New 
Rochelle,  which  soon  numbered  thirteen  members  ;  this  seems 
to  have  been  the  third  society  in  the  state  following  New 
York  and  Ashgrove.  The  New  Rochelle  society  was  made  up 
of  excellent  materials. 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  Lord  opened  the  waj^  for 
the  Methodists  in  New  Rochelle,  when  Mrs.  Deveau  was 
happily  converted  under  the  first  sermon,  in  which  "  Free 
Grace,"  and  a  present  salvation  was  offered  to  her,  and  all 
present,  by  Mr.  Pilmoor.  As  this  was  the  first  family  in 
this  town  that  received  the  preachers,  it  was  the  gateway 
by  which  they  had  an  abundant  entrance  into  that  part  of 
the  country.  The  war  coming  on,  the  preachers  ceased  to 
visit  them.  Mr.  Peter  Bonnette  was  their  leader ;  but, 
during  the  war  he  was  obliged  to  fly  both  from  them  and  his 
family.  His  family  and  Mr.  Frederick  Deveau's,  were  chief 
families  in  this  society.  Mr.  Bonnette  was  a  local  preacher; 
and,  after  professing  religion  seventy-three  years,  he  died 
triumphant  in  the  Redeemer  in  1823,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
seven.     In  1788,  Messrs.  Bonnette  and  Deveau,  assisted  by 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  103 

others,  erected  a  cliurcli  in  New  Rochelle,  whicli  was  the 
third  place  of  worship  the  Methodists  had  in  the  state,  fol- 
lowing Wesley  Chapel,  and  Harper's  on  Long  Island.  Two 
of  the  travelling  preachers  were  sons-in-law  of  Mr.  Deveau. 
The  Rev.  Sylvester  Hutchinson  married  his  daughter  Sarah. 
After  enjoying  religion  for  thirty  years,  she  died  in  New 
York  in  1802,  and  her  funeral  was  preached  by  Mr.  Asbury. 
Her  sister  Hester,  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  John  Wilson,  who 
was,  at  one  time,  one  of  the  book  stewards. 

On  the  3d  of  June,  1773,  Mr.  Rankin,  Mr.  Shadford, 
Mr.  Yearberry,  and  Captain  Webb,  arrived  at  Philadelphia. 
The  following  is  a  sketch  of  Mr.  Rankin's  life  and  experience 
previously  to  this  date. 

Mr.  Thomas  Rankin  was  a  native  of  Dunbar,  in  Scotland. 
When  eleven  years  old,  he  was  deeply  affected,  even  to  tears, 
on  a  sacramental  occasion — when  the  thought  first  came  into 
his  mind,  "  If  ever  I  live  to  be  a  man,  I  will  be  a  minister ; 
for,  surely,  if  any  persons  go  to  heaven,  it  must  be  ministers 
of  the  Gospel."  Soon  after,  his  father  had  him  taught 
music  and  dancing,  which  he  tells  us  he  found,  "  Obliterated 
the  good  impressions  that  his  mind  had  been  affected  with. 
Parents  and  guardians  are  not  aware  how  soon  young  minds 
are  ensnared  and  contaminated  vfitli  genteel  accomplishments. 
I  aver  that  young  people  are  in  the  utmost  danger  from 
dancing  and  music ;  and  I  have  often  been  astonished  that 
any  parents  professing  godliness,  should  suffer  their  own 
children  to  be  taught  these  thino;s,  or  turn  advocates  for 
them  in  others.  The  dancing-school  paves  the  way  for  such 
scenes  as  both  parents  and  children  often  have  cause  to 
mourn  over."  Such  was  Mr.  Rankin's  experience  of  the 
evil  of  dancing-schools. 

The  first  opportunity  that  Mr.  Rankin  had  of  conversing 
with  experimental  Christians,  was  with  some  of  those  soldiers 
that  used  to  meet  with  John  Haime,  in  Germany,  who  came 
to  Dunbar  and  began  to  hold  religious  meetings.  But,  he 
did  not  understand  them  when  they  spoke  of  God's  spirit 
bearing  witness  with  their  spirits  that  they  were  the  children 
of  God. 

Not  long  after,  he  was  at  a  wedding,  and  joined  in  a 
country  dance,  when  he  became  so  much  afi'ected  with  dread 
of  mind,  that  he  left  the  company  and  went  out  into  the 
field.  Several  came  to  him  and  invited  him  to  return  to  the 
house,  and  join  in  the  dance;  but,  his  reply  was,  "I  will 
dance  no  more  this  day  ;  and,  I  believe  I  will  never  dance 


104  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1773. 

any  more  as  long  as  I  live,"  which  resolve,  through  grace, 
he  was  enabled  to  keep. 

About  this  time  he  had  an  opportunity  of  hearing  Mr. 
Whitefield,  with  wonder  and  surprise  ;  and  remembered  more 
of  his  sermon  than  of  all  the  sermons  he  had  ever  heard 
before.  The  plan  of  salvation  by  faith,  was  made  so  plain 
to  him,  that  he  sought  the  pardoning  mercy  of  God  with  all 
his  heart.  He  had  not  wrestled  long,  before  his  soul  was 
overwhelmed  with  the  presence  of  God,  and  he  had  a  happy 
assurance  that  his  sins  were  forgiven. 

Although  he  was  somewhat  intimate  with  the  Methodists, 
and  loved  them,  yet,  he  resolved,  that  if  ever  he  preached, 
it  should  be  in  the  Church  of  Scotland ;  and  he  purposed 
entering  college  to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  but  in  this  he 
was  disappointed.  He  next  made  a  voyage  to  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  as  supercargo.  This  voyage,  while  it  grati- 
fied his  desire  to  see  foreign  countries,  was  no  benefit  to  him 
as  a  Christian. 

In  1759  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Mather,  a  man 
*'  more  dead  to  the  world,  more  alive  to  God,  and  more  deeply 
engaged  in  his  holy  calling"  than  any  he  had  seen  before. 
He  thought  it  an  honor  that  this  servant  of  God  leaned  ou 
his  shoulder  when  he  preached  out  of  doors ;  although,  he 
was  not  pleased  with  some  who  were  preparing  to  throw  dirt 
at  the  preacher.  He  afterwards  learned  "  to  go  through 
showers  of  dirt,  stones,  and  rotten  eggs." 

In  1761  he  had  his  first  interview  with  Mr.  Wesley.  He 
had,  before  this,  read  Mr.  Wesley's  published  works,  and  had 
formed  a  most  exalted  opinion  of  him.  When  he  saw  him 
and  heard  his  voice  as  he  was  ofiiciating  in  the  market  place 
at  Morpeth,  a  crowd  of  ideas  rushed  upon  him  ;  and  while 
he  gazed  upon  him  his  thoughts  were,  "  And,  is  this  the  man 
who  has  braved  the  winter's  storm  and  summer's  sun,  and 
run  to  and  fro  throughout  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and 
has  crossed  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  bring  poor  sinners  to 
Christ  ?  And  blessed  be  God  that  I  was  privileged  to  see 
this  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

In  the  latter  end  of  this  year,  or  in  the  early  part  of 
1762,  Mr.  Rankin  went  to  London,  where  he  had  the  benefit 
of  Mr.  Wesley's  conversation  and  ministry.  Having  made 
known  his  willingness  to  be  a  travelling  preacher,  Mr.  Wesley 
sent  him  into  Sussex  circuit.  While  in  London,  he  paid 
marked  attention  to  the  close  and  pointed  application  to  the 
consciences  of  the  people,  made  by  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Max- 
field  in  their  discourses,  and  in  this  matter  made  them  his 


1773.]  IN   AMERICA.  105 

models.  While  in  the  Sussex  circuit  he  saw  much  fruit  of 
his  labor.  In  one  day,  from  twelve  to  twenty  persons  were 
brought  to  God.  One  of  the  persons  visited  on  this  day  was 
Mr.  Richardson,  the  curate  of  the  parish,  who  shortly  after- 
wards went  to  London  and  labored  with  Mr.  Wesley,  and  was 
a  burning  and  shining  light  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Rankin  continued  to  labor  from  this  time  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Wesley,  for  eleven  years,  in  England.  In 
some  circuits  he  saw  great  displays  of  saving  grace — particu- 
larly in  Cornwall,  where  he  and  his  colleague  added  about  a 
thousand  to  the  societies.  In  1772  he  first  met  Captain 
Webb,  at  the  Leeds  Conference,  when  Mr.  Wesley  decided 
to  send  him  to  America,  and  he  selected  Mr.  Shadford  for 
his  companion.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Webb  arranged  ever}^  thing 
respecting  their  provisions,  and  in  the  spring  of  1773  they 
sailed  for  America. 

As  the  vessel  came  up  the  Delaware  river,  Mr.  Rankin 
thought  "  the  spreading  trees  with  their  variety  of  shade, 
the  plantations  with  their  large  peach  and  apple  orchards, 
and  fields  of  Indian  corn,  was  the  most  lovely  prospect  he 
had  ever  seen."  He  considered  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware, 
and  Susquehanna  rivers,  as  grand  beyond  description.* 

What  would  his  admiration  and  wonder  have  been  could 
he  have  seen  the  Amazon,  the  Mississippi,  the  cataract  of 
Niagara :  and  what  may  exceed  them  all  in  grand  magnifi- 
cence— the  Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky  ? 

After  landing  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  spent  a  few  days, 
he  visited  New  York,  and  then  returned  to  Philadelphia  and 
held  his  first  conference. 

Mr.  George  Shadford  was  a  native  of  Lincolnshire,  in 
England — born  January  19th,  1739.  As  he  grew  up,  his 
innate  depravity  began  to  show  itself  in  bad  words,  and  in 
acts  of  cruelty  to  inferior  creatures — he  was,  also,  much 
given  to  Sabbath-breaking.  Had  there  been  no  restraints 
upon  him  he  might  have  become  a  confirmed  sinner ;  but, 
the  fear  of  death,  parental  and  ministerial  influence,  checked 
him.  He  wished  the  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  dead, 
because  he  hindered  his  sports  on  the  Lord's  day.  His 
father  made  him  go  to  church  on  the  Sabbath,  and  his  mother 
insisted  on  his  saying  his  prayers  night  and  morning,  and 
sent  him  to  the  minister  to  be  catechized ;  he  was  confirmed 
by  the  bishop,  and  afterwards  received  the  sacrament.  This 
solemn  act  caused  him  to  weep  and  resolve  on  a  new  life, 

*  Extracted  from  Mr.  Wesley's  Missionaries  to  America. 


106  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1773. 

and  had  he  been  properly  instructed  he  would  have  been 
able  to  give  a  reason  of  his  hope,  but  for  lack  of  this  he 
yielded  to  the  temptation,  "you  have  repented  and  reformed 
enough,"  and  soon  he  was  as  bad  as  ever — returning  to  his 
old  sports  of  wrestling,  running,  leaping,  foot-ball,  and 
dancing,  in  which  he  excelled,  being  as  active  as  if  he  had 
been  a  compound  of  life  and  fire. 

He  next  became  a  soldier.  This  almost  distracted  his 
parents,  for  whom  he  had  a  strong  affection.  Often  when  he 
heard  the  minister  read  the  fifth  commandment  in  church, 
"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be 
long  in  the  land,  &c.,"  with  tears  in  his  eyes  he  often  said, 
"Lord,  incline  my  heart  to  keep  this  law,"  believing  a  curse 
would  rest  on  disobedient  children.  When  quartered  at 
Gainsborough,  he  first  heard  a  Methodist  preach,  and  was 
much  struck  with  his  manner.  After  a  hymn  was  sung  he 
began  to  pray  extempore  in  such  a  way  as  Mr.  Shadford 
had  never  heard  before.  Taking  a  Bible  from  his  pocket  the 
preacher  read  his  text,  and  then  replaced  it  whence  it  came. 
Mr.  S.  thought,  "  will  he  also  preach  without  a  book  ?  I 
did  not  suppose  he  had  learned  abilities,  or  had  studied  at 
either  Oxford  or  Cambridge ;  but,  he  opened  the  Scriptures 
in  such  a  light  as  I  never  had  heard.  I  thought  it  was  the 
gift  of  God ;  and,  when  he  spoke  against  pleasure-takers,  it 
brought  conviction  to  my  conscience,  and  I  resolved  to  attend 
Methodist  preaching,  for  I  received  more  light  from  that 
sermon  than  from  all  that  I  had  heard  before." 

Having  served  his  time  as  a  soldier  he  returned  home.  As 
he  was  going  home  from  a  dance  his  thoughts  were,  "  What 
have  I  been  doing  this  night  ?  serving  the  devil !  The  ways 
of  the  devil  are  more  expensive  than  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 
It  costs  a  man  more  to  damn  his  soul  than  to  save  it."  He 
remembered  his  vows  that  he  had  made  to  God,  and  thought 
he  would  serve  the  devil  no  more.  This  resolution  was 
strengthened  while  he  was  walking  and  weeping  in  a  grave- 
yard, reflecting  on  the  dead — and  particularly  on  the  case 
of  a  young  woman  who  had  come  to  town  to  enjoy  a  good 
dance.  After  she  had  tripped  over  the  room  with  her  com- 
panions until  twelve  o'clock  at  night  she  took  sick  suddenly 
— was  put  to  bed,  from  which  she  never  rose.  To  her,  death 
was  unwelcome !  The  feelings  of  this  hour  never  fully  left 
him  until  he  was  converted  to  God. 

While  Mr.  Shadford  was  in  this  serious  state  of  mind,  and 
before  he  had  an  assurance  of  God's  favor,  his  parents  were 
both  taken  ill ;  he  was  greatly  concerned  for  them.     It  was 


1773.]  IN   AMERICA.  107 

impressed  on  his  mind,  "go  to  prayer  for  them."  He  went 
up  stairs,  shut  himself  up  in  a  room,  and  prayed  fervently 
that  the  Lord  would  spare  them  four  or  five  years  longer. 
His  prayer  was  answered:  one  lived  about  four  years,  and 
the  other  nearly  five — and  both  were  truly  converted  to  God. 
About  this  time,  Methodist  preaching  was  established  in  his 
town,  and  a  society  raised  up.  "With  this  society  he  united, 
after  he  received  the  "  Spirit  of  adoption,"  which  was  in 
1762.  Having  obtained  his  father's  permission,  he  held 
prayer  in  the  family,  which  was  made  a  blessing  to  him  and 
his  parents.  Soon  after  he  began  to  exhort ;  and  through 
his  instrumentality  his  parents  and  several  others  obtained 
an  evidence  of  God's  favor. 

It  was  the  practice  of  Mr.  Shadford  to  reprove  sin  in  all 
who  sinned  in  his  presence.  His  father  was  afraid,  that  if  he 
reproved  the  customers  who  came  to  his  shop  it  would  cause 
him  to  lose  all  his  business ;  but,  his  reply  was,  "  Father, 
let  us  trust  God  with  all  our  concerns ;  for  none  ever  trusted 
the  Lord  and  were  confounded."  Instead  of  losing,  their 
business  increased  more  and  more. 

He  had  a  relation — Alice  Shadford,  of  whom  Mr.  Wesley 
says :  "  She  was  long  a  mother  in  Israel,  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light,  and  unexceptionable  instance  of  perfect  love." 
She  lived  a  single  life,  and  after  serving  God  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  went  to  paradise  in  her  ninety-sixth  year.  This 
good  woman  prayed  earnestly  for  twenty  years  for  the  con- 
version of  George  Shadford  ;  nor  did  she  pray  in  vain.  In 
the  answer  of  this  prayer  of  hers,  a  Christian  of  no  ordinary 
degree  was  added  to  the  flock  of  Christ,  and  a  Gospel  minister 
was  raised  up,  who  turned  thousands  of  sinners  to  the  Sa- 
viour ;  for,  of  the  eight  preachers  that  Mr.  Wesley  sent  to 
America,  none  was  as  successful  in  winning  souls  as  was  Mr. 
Shadford. 

He  went  to  see  a  married  sister  of  his,  who  lived  near 
Epworth,  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  her  to  become  a 
Christian.  When  he  first  began  to  talk  to  her,  she  thought 
he  was  out  of  his  mind  ;  but  concluded  that  her  brother  could 
not  intend  to  deceive  her,  and  she  gave  heed  to  his  account 
of  religion.  She  related  a  remarkable  dream  that  she  had 
some  time  before,  in  which  she  was  warned  to  lay  aside  the 
vain  practice  of  card-playing,  of  which  she  was  fond.  It 
was  not  long  before  she  was  rejoicing  in  a  Saviour's  love. 
She  was  a  woman  of  strong  faith,  believing  that  all  her 
children  would  be  saved ;  and  it  was  according  to  her  faith ; 
for  as  they  grew  up  they  embraced  religion,  joined  the  Me- 


108  RISE    OP   METHODISM  [1773. 

thodlsts,  and  some  of  them  reached  paradise  before  the 
mother. 

Mr.  Shadford  was  now  laboring  extensively  and  usefully 
as  a  local  preacher.  On  one  occasion,  as  he  was  returning 
home  from  Yorkshire,  it  was  impressed  upon  his  mind  that 
his  father  was  sick  or  dying.  Before  he  reached  home,  a 
friend  informed  him  that  his  father  was  supposed  to  be  near 
death.  When  Mr.  S.  came  in,  the  father  said,  "Son,  I  am 
glad  to  see  thee ;  but  I  am  going  to  leave  thee ;  I  am  going 
to  God;  I  am  going  to  heaven."  Mr.  S.  inquired,  "Father, 
are  you  sure  of  it?"  "Yes,"  said  he,  "I  am  sure  of  it. 
The  Lord  has  pardoned  all  my  sins,  and  given  me  that  per- 
fect love  that  casts  out  all  fear.  I  feel  heaven  within  me, 
and  this  heaven  below  must  surely  lead  to  heaven  above." 

After  he  had  labored  a  few  years  as  a  local  preacher,  he 
was  received  by  Mr.  Wesley  at  the  Bristol  Conference,  in 
1768,  as  a  travelling  preacher.  Having  been  useful  in  this 
sphere  in  Cornwall,  Kent,  and  Norwich  circuits,  he  met  Cap- 
tain Webb  at  the  Leeds  Conference  in  1772,  who  was  warmly 
exhorting  the  preachers  to  go  to  America.  His  spirit  was 
stirred  within  him,  and  he  gave  his  consent  to  go  the  follow- 
ing spring.  When  the  time  arrived,  Mr.  Wesley  wrote  to  him 
in  the  following  laconic  style :  "  The  time  has  come  for  you 
to  embark  for  America.  I  let  you  loose,  George,  on  this 
great  continent ;  publish  your  mission  in  the  open  face  of  the 
sun,  and  do  all  the  good  you  can."  Those  who  follow  him 
through  the  following  five  years  of  his  arduous  and  success- 
ful labors  in  America,  will  comprehend  the  idea  that  was  in 
Mr.  Wesley's  mind,  when  he  talked  of  turning  this  fiery 
missionary  loose  on  this  great  continent. 

When  Mr.  Shadford  arrived  at  Peel,  where  the  ship  lay  in 
which  he  was  to  embark,  a  very  remarkable  dream,  which  he 
dreamed  six  years  before,  came  very  forcibly  to  his  mind. 
It  was  as  follows  :  "  In  my  sleep  I  thought  I  received  a  letter 
from  God,  which  read  as  follows — '  You  must  go  to  preach 
the  gospel  in  a  foreign  land,  unto  a  fallen  people,  a  mixture 
of  nations.'  I  thought  I  was  conveyed  to  the  place  where 
the  ship  lay,  in  which  I  was  to  embark,  in  an  instant.  The 
wharf  and  ship  appeared  to  be  as  plain  to  me  as  if  I  were 
awake.  I  replied,  '  Lord,  I  am  willing  to  go  in  thy  name ; 
but  I  am  afraid  a  people  of  different  nations  and  languages 
will  not  understand  me.'  The  answer  to  this  was — 'Fear 
not,  for  I  am  with  thee.'  I  awoke  awfully  impressed  with 
the  presence  of  God,  and  full  of  divine  love,  and  a  relish  of 
it  remained  upon  my  spirit  for  many  days.    When  I  came  to 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  109 

Peel  and  saw  the  ship  and  wharf,  I  said  to  Brother  Rankin, 
'  This  is  the  ship,  the  place,  and  the  wharf  which  I  saw  in 
my  dream  six  years  ago.'  This  confirmed  me  that  my  way 
was  of  God."  On  Good  Friday  he  left  his  native  land ;  and 
as  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  often  sung — 

"  The  watery  deep  I  pass, 
With  Jesus  in  my  view." 

And  after  he  landed  in  America,  he  could  sing — 

"  And  through  the  howling  wilderness 
My  way  pursue." 

Having  met  a  hospitable  and  loving  people  in  Philadelphia, 
on  his  landing,  he  next  went  to  Trenton  and  spent  a  month 
in  the  Jerseys — adding  thirty-five  to  the  societies — a  good 
beginning,  and  an  earnest  of  his  success  in  the  future.  He 
is  the  first  Methodist  preacher  that  mentions  Mount  Holly, 
and  seems  to  have  been  the  first  that  preached  in  it.  While 
in  Jersey,  a  friend  took  him  one  day  to  see  a  hermit  in  the 
woods.  "  After  some  difiiculty  we  found  his  hermitage, 
which  was  a  little  place  like  a  hog-sty,  built  of  several  pieces 
of  wood,  covered  with  bark  ;  his  bed  consisted  of  dry  leaves. 
There  was  a  narrow  beaten  path,  some  thirty  yards  in  length, 
by  the  side  of  it,  where  he  walked  to  meditate.  If  any  one 
offered  him  food,  he  would  take  it ;  but  if  money  was  offered 
him,  he  would  be  very  angry.  When  anything  was  said  to 
him  which  he  did  not  like,  he  would  break  out  in  a  great 
passii^n.  He  had  lived  in  this  cell  seven  cold  winters;  and 
after  all  his  prayers,  counting  his  beads  (which  indicates  the 
church  that  he  adhered  to),  and  separating  himself  from 
mankind,  still  corrupt  nature  was  alive,  and  strong  in  him."* 

In  1773,  Mr.  Benjamin  Abbott  commenced  his  eventful 
ministry,  being,  as  he  tells  us,  ^' Fully  convinced  from  the 
very  hour  that  he  found  peace  with  God,  that  a  dispensation 
of  the  gospel  was  committed  to  him."  He  was,  without 
doubt,  a  preacher  of  the  Lord's  making — man  had  little, 
if  anything,  to  do  with  it.  It  does  not  appear  that  any 
preacher  wrote  a  license  for  him ;  but,  being  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  began  to  warn  his  fellow-creatures  of  their 
danger,  and  the  fruit  that  followed  in  the  "  Epistles  written 
with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  known  and  read  of  all 
men,"  was  his  certificate  that  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  had 
called  him  to  work  in  it,  and  he  was  recognised  by  his  fel- 

*  Abridged  from  Mr.  Wesley's  First  Missionaries  to  America. 


110  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1773. 

low-laborers.  In  the  beginning  of  Methodism,  there  were 
many  preachers  made  in  this  summary  way. 

Among  those  who  are  called  to  preach  the  gospel,  there 
are  a  few  who  unite  the  ornate  and  the  powerfully  impressive 
style.  Mr.  Whiteiield  belonged  to  this  class.  There  is  an- 
other class  who  speak  with  much  eloquence,  but  are  not  very 
impressive.  A  third  class  have  no  claim  to  the  ornate  style, 
but  are,  nevertheless,  very  powerfully  impressive  ;  to  this 
class  Mr.  Abbott  belonged,  if  he  did  not  really  stand  at  the 
head  of  it.  The  great  end  of  speaking  is  to  produce  a  con- 
viction of  the  truth  of  the  subject  presented,  in  the  souls  of 
the  hearers ;  and  as  few  preachers  succeeded  better  in  reach- 
ing this  end  than  Mr.  Abbott,  we,  therefore,  regard  him  as 
having  been  a  good  speaker,  if  he  did  violate  some  rules  of 
grammar,  and  was  defective  in  orthoepy — good,  because  the 
great  end  of  speaking  was  attained.  Those  who  heard  hira 
could  not  readily  forget  either  his  matter  or  manner.  When 
Mr.  Asbury  first  heard  him,  he  observed,  "  he  is  a  man  of 
uncommon  zeal,  and  of  good  utterance — his  words  came  with 
great  power."  In  speaking,  he  allowed  himself  time  to 
inspire ;  and  when  he  expired,  it  was  like  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind ;  and  not  unfrequently,  the  Holy  Ghost  was  in 
it,  and  the  people  sunk  down  helpless,  stiff,  and  motionless. 

Mr.  Abbott  was  among  the  first  of  the  converts  to  the 
Saviour,  in  New  Jersey,  that  preached.  If  there  was  one 
among  them  that  began  to  proclaim  the  gospel  before  him, 
we  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  His  preaching  caused  the 
thoughts  of  many  hearts  to  be  revealed.  Under  one  of  his 
earliest  discourses,  the  strange  occurrence  recorded  on  the 
34th  page  of  his  Life  was  acted.  "  While  he  was  exclaiming 
against  wickedness,  he  cried  out,  '  For  aught  I  know,  there 
may  be  a  murderer  in  this  congregation  !'  Immediately  a 
lusty  man  attempted  to  go  out ;  but  when  he  got  to  the  door, 
he  bawled  out,  stretching  out  both  of  his  arms,  and  retreated, 
endeavoring  to  defend  himself  as  though  some  one  was  press- 
ing upon  him  to  take  his  life,  until  he  fell  against  the  wall 
and  lodged  on  a  chest,  when,  with  a  bitter  cry,  he  said,  '  I 
am  the  murderer  !  I  killed  a  man  fifteen  years  ago  ;  and  two 
men  met  me  at  the  door,  with  swords  to  stab  me,  and  pur- 
sued me  across  the  room.'  As  soon  as  the  man  recovered, 
he  went  away,  and  was  not  seen  or  heard  of  any  more  by 
Mr.  Abbott." 

As  Mr.  Abbott  was  the  first  in  his  neighborhood  that  ob- 
tained experimental  religion,  he  had  no  congenial  society 
until  he  had  been  instrumental  in  raising  it  up.     During  the 


1772.]  IN   AMERICA.  Ill 

first  three  years  of  his  ministry  as  a  local  preacher,  he  did 
not  go  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  home,  as  all  the  ground 
around  him  needed  moral  cultivation.  Woodstown  and  Man- 
nington,  near  Salem,  were  the  extreme  points  of  the  field  of 
his  labor.  To  most  of  the  people  within  the  bounds  of  this 
field,  he  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher  they  ever  heard. 
In  a  neighborhood  where  wickedness  had  so  abounded,  that 
it  was  called  Hell-Neck,  a  great  reformation  took  place 
under  his  preaching ;  also,  in  Mannington,  where  he  preached 
at  Mr.  Harvey's,  and  at  other  places.  Thus  was  he  a 
Methodist  pioneer  in  Salem  county,  opening  up  several  new 
appointments  for  the  circuit-riders.  From  Mannington, 
Methodist  preaching  was  introduced  into  the  town  of  Salem ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  Mr.  Abbott  was  the  first  preacher  of 
his  order  that  preached  in  this  town. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Having  followed  the  march  of  Methodism  for  several  years, 
we  have  come  to  the  time  when  the  first  yearly — or,  as  it 
has  been  more  commonly  called — annual  Conference,  was 
held.  On  the  14th  of  July,  of  this  year,  Conference  com- 
menced in  this  city,  w^here  it  was  also  held  in  1774  and 
1775,  which  makes  the  Philadelphia  Conference  older,  by 
three  years,  than  any  other  Conference  in  America.  Con- 
ferences, at  this  time,  lasted  but  two  or  three  days. 

Mr.  Rankin,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  being  Mr.  Wesley's 
assistant,  presided.  All  the  preachers  present  at  this  Con- 
ference were  Europeans.  They  were  Thomas  Rankin,  Rich- 
ard Boardman,  Joseph  Pilmoor,  Francis  Asbury,  Richard 
Wright,  George  Shadford,  Thomas  Webb,  John  King,  Abra- 
ham Whitworth,  and  Joseph  Yearbry.  Messrs.  Boardman 
and  Pilmoor  took  no  appointment,  in  view  of  returning  to 
England,  and  Captain  Webb  was  more  a  spectator  than 
a  member.  The  preachers  agreed  that  Mr.  AVesley's  autho- 
rity should  extend  to  the  Methodists  of  this  country ;  and 
that  the  same  doctrine  should  be  preached,  and  the  same 
discipline  be  enforced  that  were  in  England. 

At  the  first  Conference  there  was,  for  the  first  time,  a 
return  made  of  the  number  of  Methodists,  as  follows : — For 
New  York,  180  ;  for  Philadelphia,  180 ;  for  New  Jersey,  200 ; 


112  RISE   OF  iMETHODISM  [1773. 

for  Marjland,  500  ;  for  Virginia,  100.  As  nearly  half  of  the 
"whole  number  of  Methodists,  at  this  time,  were  in  Maryland, 
we  regard  it  as  collateral  evidence  that  Methodism  was  older 
there  than  in  any  other  of  the  Provinces.  The  whole  num- 
ber was  1160. 

Mr.  Rankin  was  stationed  in  New  York,  but  labored  some 
time  in  Philadelphia.  In  October  of  this  year,  he  first  visited 
Maryland,  and  held  a  quarterly  meeting  at  Mr.  Watters's. 
He  says,  "  Such  a  season  I  have  not  seen  since  I  came  to 
America.  The  Lord  did  indeed  make  the  place  of  His  feet 
glorious.  The  shout  of  a  king  was  heard  in  our  camp. 
From  Brother  Watters's  I  rode  to  Bush  Chapel,  and  preached 
there,  where  the  Lord,  also,  made  bare  His  holy  arm.  From 
the  chapel  I  rode  to  Brother  Dallam's,  and  preached  at  six 
o'clock.  This  has,  indeed,  been  a  day  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
On  Wednesday  we  held  our  love  feast.  It  was  now  that  the 
heavens  were  opened,  and  the  skies  poured  down  divine 
righteousness.  The  inheritance  of  God  was  watered  with 
the  rain  from  heaven,  and  the  dew  thereof  lay  upon  their 
branches.  I  had  not  seen  such  a  season  as  this  since  I  left 
my  native  land." 

Mr.  Shadford  was  stationed  in  Philadelphia.  His  next 
remove  was  to  New  York,  where  he  spent  four  months,  and 
saw  religion  revive.  While  he  was  there  he  added  fifty  to 
the  society — leaving  two  hundred  and  four  members  when 
he  left  it.  He  spent  the  winter  of  1774  in  Philadelphia, 
"  with  a  loving,  teachable  people.  The  blessing  of  the 
Lord  was  with  us,  and  many  were  converted  to  God.  There 
was  a  sweet  spirit  of  peace  and  brotherly  love  in  this  society." 
W^hen  he  left  this  society,  to  go  to  Baltimore,  after  the  Con- 
ference, in  May,  1774,  he  left  two  hundred  and  twenty-four 
members.  He  had,  during  his  first  year's  labor  in  America, 
added  nearly  two  hundred  to  the  societies,  while  hundreds 
had  been  benefited  in  various  ways  and  degrees,  under  his 
ministry. 

Messrs.  King  and  Watters  were  appointed  to  Jersey ;  but, 
as  Mr.  Watters  did  not  fill  this  appointment,  Mr.  Rankin 
called  out  Philip  Gatch  to  fill  his  place.     Mr.  Gatch  says, — 

"  I  had  engaged  to  take  a  tour  through  Virginia  in  the  fall 
with  Mr.  Strawbridge ;  but,  previous  to  the  time  we  had  set 
for  departure,  the  quarterly  meeting  came  on  for  the 
Baltimore  circuit,  at  which  the  official  members  were  to  be 
examined.  Mr.  Rankin,  the  general  superintendent,  was 
present.  After  my  character  had  passed,  he  asked  me  if  I 
could  travel  in  the  regular  work.     This  was  altogether  unex- 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  118 

pected  to  me,  but  I  did  not  dare  to  refuse.  He  then  asked 
me  if  I  had  a  horse ;  I  answered  that  I  had.  Mr.  Asbury 
then  asked  me  if  my  parents  would  be  willing  to»give  me  up. 
I  replied  that  I  thought  they  would  be.  They  had  always 
concurred  in  my  going  out  where  duty  called.  I  found  that 
I  had  no  way  of  retreat,  but  had  to  make  a  full  surrender 
of  myself  to  God  and  the  work.  Mr.  Rankin  then  replied, 
'You  must  go  to  the  Jerseys.'  This  was  unexpected  to  me. 
If  I  had  been  sent  to  Virginia,  I  should  have  been  gratified. 
At  first  I  was  much  cast  down,  but  before  the  meeting  closed 
my  mind  was  relieved. 

"  I  had  but  little  time  to  prepare  for  my  work,  for  I  was  to 
meet  Mr.  Rankin  by  a  certain  time,  and  accompany  him  as 
far  as  Philadelphia  on  my  way.  I  found  it  a  severe  trial  to 
part  with  my  parents  and  friends.  My  feelings  for  a  time 
got  the  ascendency ;  it  was  like  breaking  asunder  the  tender 
cords  of  life,  a  kind  of  death  to  me,  but  I  dared  not  to  look 
back.  He  that  will  be  Christ's  disciple  must  forsake  all  and 
follow  him.  I  met  Mr.  Rankin  according  to  appointment. 
Mr.  Asbury  lay  sick  at  the  place  of  meeting.  He  called  for 
me  to  his  room,  and  gave  me  such  advice  as  he  thought  suitable 
to  my  case.  He  was  well  calculated  to  administer  to  my 
condition,  for  he  had  left  father  and  mother  behind  when  he 
came  to  America.  The  first  evening  after  we  left  this  place 
Mr.  Rankin  preached  at  New  Castle,  and  the  day  follov/ing 
we  hurried  on  to  reach  Philadelphia.  To  raise  my  spirits, 
as  I  suppose,  he  remarked,  as  we  rode  on,  that  there  would 
be  meeting  that  night,  and  that  we  should  meet  with  Messrs. 
Pilmoor  and  King.  I  asked  him  who  was  to  preach  ;  he  said 
that  generally  fell  on  the  greatest  stranger,  and  he  supposed 
it  would  be  me  ;  but  said  on  Saturday  evening  they  do  not 
confine  themselves  to  any  particular  subject.  On  our  arrival 
Mr.  Pilmoor  called  in,  and  he,  with  Mr.  Rankin,  went  out, 
telling  me  to  be  ready  on  their  return.  But  they  stayed  so 
long  that  I  concluded  they  had  forgotten  me,  and,  like  Agag, 
the  bitterness  of  death  had  passed.  But  at  length  they 
returned  and  hurried  me  off,  telling  me  I  must  not  think  of 
them ;  but  they  did  not  seem  to  appreciate  my  feelings.  I, 
however,  endeavored  to  discharge  my  duty,  and  felt  comforted. 

"Next  morning,  in  company  with  Mr.  King,  I  crossed 
the  Delaware.  He  preached,  and  held  a  love-feast.  On 
the  following  morning  he  pursued  his  journey,  leaving  me  a 
'stranger  in  a  strange  land." 

The  situation  which  Mr.  Gatch  now  occupied  w^as  one  of 
deep  interest.  The  field  of  his  labors  stretches  out  before 
10* 


114  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1773. 

him  of  great  extent,  having  had  but  little  moral  or  religious 
culture.  He  does  not  enter  into  other  men's  labors,  and  he 
is  diffident  of  his  own  qualifications  for  the  work.  His 
education  had  been  very  limited,  as  was  also  his  religious 
experience  as  a  preacher.  He  had  to  encounter  ignorance, 
prejudice,  and  persecution — a  formidable  array  to  the  most 
talented  and  experienced  preacher.  He  represented  a  sect, 
too,  that  was  everywhere  spoken  against.  To  the  prevailing 
sectarians  his  doctrines  were  misunderstood  and  misrepre- 
sented, till  they  had  become  odious  to  professors  of  religion 
generally.  He  was  but  a  stripling  of  less  than  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  low  of  stature,  and  of  a  very  youthful  appear- 
ance. The  odds  were  fearfully  against  him.  Of  success 
there  would  seem  to  be  no  human  probability.  But  "  his 
weapons  were  not  carnal,  but  mighty,  through  God,  to  the 
pulling  down  of  the  strong-holds  of  Satan."  His  faith  was 
strong  in  proportion  to  the  weakness  he  so  often  felt  and 
deplored. 

He  was  the  first  preacher  sent  as  a  regular  itinerant  into 
New  Jersey.  The  Minutes  of  the  Conference  for  1773  set 
down  J.  King  and  William  Watters  to  that  appointment. 
But  this  is  supposed  to  be  an  error  in  the  record.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  neither  of  these  gentlemen  travelled  in  that  state 
at  the  time  specified.  Mr.  Watters,  in  a  short  account  of 
his  ministerial  labors,  written  by  himself,  says,  that  in  Octo- 
ber, 1772,  he  accompanied  Mr.  Williams,  a  local  preacher, 
to  Virginia  ;  that  he  remained  there  eleven  months,  and  in 
the  following  November  took  an  appointment  on  Kent  Cir- 
cuit, Md. ;  that  he  never  saw  Messrs.  Asbury  and  Ran- 
kin till  his  return  from  Virginia.  It  must  have  been  about 
the  same  time  he  went  to  Kent  Circuit,  or  before,  that  Mr. 
King  accompanied  Mr,  Gatch  to  his  appointment  in  New 
Jersey,  but  did  not  remain  on  the  circuit. 

The  narrative  of  Mr.  Gatch  is  resumed.  He  says: 
"  Three  considerations  rested  on  my  mind  with  great  weight : 
first,  my  own  weakness ;  secondly,  the  help  that  God  alone 
could  afford ;  and,  thirdly,  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  the 
people  to  whom  I  have  been  sent.  The  Lord  was  with  me, 
and  my  labors  on  the  circuit  were  crowned  with  some  suc- 
cess. Not  many  joined  at  that  time  to  be  called  by  our 
name,  for  it  was  very  much  spoken  against.  Fifty-two 
united  with  the  Church,  most  of  whom  professed  religion. 
Benjamin  Abbott's  wife  and  three  of  her  children  were 
among  the  number.     David,  one  of  the  children,  became  a 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  115 

useful  preacher.  Though  I  found  the  Cross  to  be  very  heavy 
while  serving  the  circuit  in  my  imperfect  manner,  when  I  was 
called  to  part  with  the  friends  for  whom  I  had  been  laboring, 
I  found  it  to  be  a  great  trial,  for  we  possessed  the  unity  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace." 

Mr.  William  Watters  did  not  attend  the  first  Conference 
held  in  Philadelphia,  in  July  of  this  year,  nor  did  he  go  to 
New  Jersey,  the  place  to  which  he  was  appointed ;  but,  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  Rankin,  went  in  November,  1773,  to 
Kent,  Md.,  where  he  preached  with  greater  liberty  and 
success  than  ever  before.  Here  the  work  was  enlarging,  and 
he  had  invitations  to  new  places;  the  people  of  Queen  Anne's 
county  began  to  open  their  doors,  and  he  was  sent  for,  to 
preach  to  them.  Mr.  Fogwell  was  the  first  in  this  county 
that  received  the  preachers.  He  had  been  much  under  the 
influence  of  strong  drink.  A  benevolent  lady,  who  knew 
something  of  Methodist  preachers,  and  their  usefulness  to 
men  beset  as  he  was,  advised  him  to  send  for  them  to  preach 
at  his  house,  which  he  did.  Here  Mr.  Watters  was  met  by 
Parson  Cain,  the  parish  minister,  who  threatened  to  prose- 
cute Mr.  Fogwell,  if  he  allowed  him  to  preach  in  his  house, 
which  was  not  licensed,  as  the  law  required  at  that  day. 
Not  wishing  to  involve  his  new  friend  in  difficulty,  Mr. 
Watters  invited  the  people  to  follow  him  out  of  the  house, 
where  he  preached  to  them  in  the  open  air.  After  the  dis- 
course was  ended,  Mr.  Cain  put  a  number  of  questions  to 
Mr.  Watters,  before  the  people,  all  of  which  he  carefully 
answered.  A  society  was  raised  up  at  Mr.  Fogwell's,  in 
this  or  the  following  year,  which  was  the  first  in  the  county, 
and  is  still  represented  at  Holden's  meeting-house.  Tradi- 
tion says  that  a  blind  woman — a  Mrs.  Rogers — was  the  first 
Methodist  missionary  in  Queen  Anne's  county,  who  preached 
at  ]\Ir.  John  Fogwell's.  Brother  Peters  was  the  first  class- 
leader  here,  and  in  the  county. 

While  Mr.  Watters  labored  in  Kent,  many  were  turned  to 
the  Lord.  After  spending  the  winter  at  Kent,  Mr.  Yearbry 
took  his  place,  and  he  returned  home  in  the  spring  of  1774, 
and  spent  a  month  in  Baltimore  Circuit. 

Mr.  iVsbury  had  charge  of  the  Baltimore  circuit,  which 
lay  in  Frederick,  Baltimore,  Harford,  Kent,  and  Cecil 
counties.  His  colleagues  were  Messrs.  Strawbridge,  Whit- 
worth,  and  Yearbry.  Mr.  Joseph  Yearbry  came  over  with 
Messrs.  Rankin  and  Shadford  ;  and,  though  not  sent  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  he  was  in  the  Conference  for  two  years.     In  1773, 


116  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1773. 

he  was  appointed  to  Baltimore  Circuit,  and  in  1774,  to 
Chester  Circuit.     This  is  all  we  know  of  him. 

Maryland,  where  Mr.  Asbury  went  to  labor  after  Con- 
ference was  over,  was  the  place  where  he  wished  to  be ;  and 
he  was  the  preacher  most  desired  by  the  Methodists,  espe- 
cially those  of  Baltimore.  He  found  the  societies,  from 
which  he  had  been  absent  but  three  months,  increased  in 
numbers.  He  had  much  fruit  from  his  labor,  both  in  town 
and  country,  both  in  confirming  the  young  disciples,  and  in 
bringing  sinners  to  God.  One  of  the  greatest  sinners  of  his 
neighborhood,  a  famous  leader  of  absurd  and  diabolical 
sports,  who  lived  not  far  from  Baltimore,  was  deeply 
awakened  under  him,  and  invited  him  to  his  house  for 
serious  conversation. 

Mr.  Francis  HoUingsworth  invited  him  to  his  house,  and 
they  had  a  close  conversation  on  religion.  He  appears  to 
have  been  a  gentleman  of  large  estate — his  family  numbered 
not  less  than  eighty  souls.  It  seems  that  he  became  a 
Methodist,  and  many  of  the  same  name  and  family  have 
been  in  union  with  them.  Mr.  F.  HoUingsworth,  probably 
a  son  of  this  gentleman,  and  a  spiritual  son  of  Mr.  Asbury, 
transcribed  his  journal.  There  was  a  special  intimacy  be- 
tween Mr.  Asbury  and  this  family.  We  have  already  seen 
that  Mr.  Jesse  HoUingsworth  was  one  of  the  leading  Metho- 
dists in  building  the  chapel  at  Fell's  Point. 

Mr.  William  Lynch,  of  Patapsco  Neck,  was  brought  to 
the  Lord  this  year.  He  became  a  useful  preacher,  and  his 
name  appears  in  the  Minutes  of  1785  as  a  travelling  preacher 
on  Kent  Circuit.  He  was  the  fruit  of  Mr.  Asbury's  libor, 
for  whom  he  entertained  a  warm  regard.  He  was  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  powers  of  speech — one  who  possessed 
and  lived  in  holiness,  and  died  victorious  in  the  year  1806. 

In  1773  new  appointments  were  made  for  preaching  at 
the  following  places :  Mr.  Joseph  Cromwell,  a  stiff  old 
Churchman,  near  Baltimore,  differing  with  his  parson  about 
predestination,  was  willing  to  receive  the  Methodists,  and 
his  house  became  a  stand  for  preaching.  Two  of  the  Crom- 
wells,  Joseph  and  James,  became  travelling  preachers — also 
at  Elk  Ridge,  among  the  Worthingtons.  Mr.  Asbury  de- 
scribed the  people  of  this  place  as  being  "wealthy  and 
wicked."  Many  attended  the  preaching,  and  some  of  them 
were  softened.  Some  time  after  a  society  was  formed.  After 
twenty-two  years'  labor,  a  Methodist  meeting-house  was  built; 
but  so  scarce  were  male  members  here  that  a  few  good 
women  constituted  the  board  of  trustees. 


1773.]  IN    AMERICA.  117 

About  this  time  Joseph  Taylor,  who  married  Sarah,  a 
sister  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Gatch,  became  a  Methodist,  also 
his  wife.  They  belonged  to  Taylor's  Chapel,  which  was 
called  after  them.  To  the  same  meeting  belonged  John 
Dougherty  and  his  wife.  These,  after  a  faithful  life,  died 
in  a  good  old  age  In  the  hope  of  glory. 

Phineas  Hunt,  with  Susan  his  companion,  became  Method- 
ists when  the  early  itinerants  came  into  their  neighborhood ; 
for  sixty  years  the  weary  preachers  had  a  comfortable  home 
in  their  house.  While  Father  Hunt  lived  he  was  head  and 
leader  of  the  society  at  his  place — he  and  his  wife  were 
among  the  excellent  of  the  earth — they  lived  to  a  good  old 
age — he  was  past  fourscore  years  at  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred In  1837.     Hunt's  Chapel  was  built  about  1780. 

Sater  Stephenson,  an  early  convert  to  God  through  Mr. 
Strawbridge's  ministry,  and  one  of  the  first  local  preachers 
in  Baltimore  county,  was  still  living  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century.  He  and  Joseph  Merryman  belonged  to  the  society 
at  Daniel  Evans's  "  Old  meeting-house"  in  Baltimore  county, 
Md.  See  "Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant,"  pp.  206,  210. 

Before  the  first  Conference  was  held  In  1773,  there  were 
Methodist  societies  In  Maryland  at  Pipe  or  Sam's  Creek, 
Bush  Forest,  John  Watters's,  Henry  Watters's,  near  Deer 
Creek ;  Barnet  Preston's,  Joslah  Dallam's,  Joseph  Pres- 
bury's,  James  J.  Baker's,  near  the  Forks  of  Gunpowder; 
Daniel  Ruff's,  near  Havre-de-Grace ;  Mr.  Duke's,  Daniel 
Evans's,  Owen's,  Nathan  Perlgau's,  Mr.  Simms',  Patapsco 
Neck,  Back  River  Neck,  Middle  River  Neck,  Bush  River 
Neck,  Fell's  Point,  Baltimore  ;  Charles  Harrlman's,  Hunt's, 
Seneca ;  Georgetown,  on  the  Potomac,  and  one  near  the  base 
of  the  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain ;  and,  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  at 
Solomon  Hersey's,  on  Bohemia  Manor ;  John  Randle's,  In 
Werton,  and  at  Hinson's,  Kent  county,  Md.  About  thirty 
societies.  There  may  have  been  others  which  we  cannot 
name. 

Mr.  Wright  was  stationed  on  the  Norfolk  Circuit,  Va.  In 
the  spring  of  1774  he  returned  from  Virginia,  giving  a 
good  account  of  the  work  there :  "  one  house  of  worship 
was  already  built."  This  was  Yeargan's  Chapel,  near  the 
southern  line  of  Virginia — the  first  house  of  worship  the 
Methodists  erected  in  the  province.  "  Another  in  contem- 
plation;" this  was  Lane's  Chapel,  which  was  put  up  soon 
after  in  Sussex  county,  and  was  the  second  chapel  in  Vir- 
ginia. "  Some  three  preachers  had  gone  out  already  from 
the  Old  Dominion  on  the  Itinerant  plan."     From  the  Con- 


118  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1773-4. 

ference  of  1774  Mr.  \Yright  returned  to  England,  having 
spent  two  years  and  a  half  in  America.  In  1777  he  retired 
from  the  work  by  locating. 

Mr.  Williams  was  stationed  at  Petersburg.  This  year  he 
bore  the  standard  of  Methodism  to  the  southern  line  of 
Virginia,  and  crossed  the  Roanoke  river  into  North  Caro- 
lina ;  and,  though  he  preached  in  the  province  this  year,  it 
is  said  he  did  not  form  any  societies  in  it  until  the  spring  of 
1774 ;  and,  as  he  was  the  first  that  formed  permanent  socie- 
ties in  these  provinces,  he  may  justly  be  regarded  as  the 
Apostle  of  Methodism  in  Virginia,  if  not  in  North  Carolina 
also.  The  above-named  twelve  preachers  were,  at  this  time, 
the  regular  itinerants.  They  were  assisted  by  some  twenty 
local  preachers  who  had  been  raised  up. 

In  1773,  Methodism  began  to  take  root  in  Fairfax  county, 
Va.  Preaching  was  established  at  Mr.  William  Adams's,  and 
several  people  were  brought  to  know  God  in  diflferent  parts 
of  the  county,  through  the  labors  of  Messrs.  Owen,  Straw- 
bridge,  and  others. 

There  was  a  strong  expectation  entertained  by  some  of 
the  preachers  that  Mr.  Wesley  would  visit  this  country  in 
1773.  But  a  letter  from  him  to  Mr.  Asbury  informed  him 
*'  That  the  time  of  his  coming  over  to  America  was  not  yet, 
being  detained  by  the  building  of  the  City  Road  Chapel." 
Mr.  Wesley,  no  doubt,  would  have  visited  this  country  if  the 
quarrel  between  the  Colonists  and  the  Crown  had  not  resulted 
in  the  Revolution. 

While  Mr.  Wesley  was  engaged  in  building  the  City  Road 
Chapel  in  London,  Mr.  Whitefield's  Orphan  House,  founded 
in  1740,  was  burned  down.  The  last  time  that  Mr.  White- 
field  dined  in  it  he  said,  "  This  house  was  built  for  God,  and 
cursed  be  the  man  that  puts  it  to  any  other  use."  The 
institution  did  not  succeed  as  its  founder  expected — it  has 
long  ceased  to  exist,  except  in  history. 

Mr.  Boardman,  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1774,  sailed 
from  New  York  for  England,  where  he  continued  his  itinerant 
labors  in  connection  with  Mr.  Wesley,  until  1782,  in  which 
year  he  died  in  Ireland.  He  had  a  presentiment  of  his  ap- 
proaching end ;  he  told  his  wife,  when  he  left  Limerick,  that 
he  should  die  in  Cork,  whither  he  was  going.  As  he  knew 
that  he  was  ready,  he  had  no  fears  of  death.  He  died  sud- 
denly, of  apoplexy.  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  man,  of 
a  gentleman,  of  a  Christian,  and  of  a  preacher.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  epitaph  that  Mr.  Wesley  prepared  for  his  tomb- 
stone : — 


1774.]  IN    AMERICA.  119 

"With  zeal  for  God,  with  love  of  souls  inspired; 
Nor  awed  by  dangers,  nor  by  hiljors  tired, 
Boardnian  in  distant  worlds  proclaimed  the  word 
To  multitudes,  and  turned  them  to  his  Lord. 
But  soon  the  bloody  waste  of  war  he  mourns, 
And,  loyal,  from  rebellion's  seat  returns : 
Nor  3'-et  at  home,  on  eagle's  pinions  flies, 
And  in  a  moment  soars  to  paradise.'' 

Mr.  Pilmoor,  in  company  with  Mr.  Boardman,  also  em- 
barked for  England,  where  he  labored  a  few  years  with  Mr. 
Wesley,  and  then  came  back  to  America  and  took  orders  in 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  spending  the  remainder  of 
his  life  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  In  the  evening  of 
his  life  his  mind  became  somewhat  impaired.  At  one  time, 
when  Brother  David  Lake  took  him  a  number  of  Dr.  Clarke's 
Commentary,  to  which  he  was  a  subscriber,  he  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  all  about  it — asking,  "  Who  is  Dr.  Clarke  ?  I  can 
write  as  good  a  commentary  on  the  Bible  as  Dr.  Clarke  can  ; 
I  don't  want  it."  At  another  time  he  came  up  town  where 
he  had  a  lot,  and  got  into  a  watchman's  box,  calling  it  his 
house,  and  refused  to  be  ejected  until  his  housekeeper  came 
and  led  him  home.  He  died  in  1821,  at  an  advanced  age — 
having  preached  the  gospel  for  almost  sixty  years — and  is 
buried  at  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  Third  street  below  Walnut, 
in  this  city ;  the  tablet  to  his  memory  is  in  the  church.  His 
talents,  as  a  preacher,  were  regarded  by  many  as  superior; 
and  at  death  he  left  a  large  circle  of  friends. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


In  January,  1774,  Mr.  Rankin  being  in  Philadelphia, 
remarks,  "  I  never  felt  the  weather  so  intensely  cold.  The 
Delaware  was  frozen  over,  and  the  Jersey  people  came  over 
on  the  ice  to  market.  Such  a  strange  sight  I  never  beheld 
before."  American  weather,  as  well  as  American  scenery, 
was  new  and  surprising  to  him.  Soon  after  he  went  to  New 
York.     He  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  held  Conference. 

May  25,  1774,  the  second  Conference  began  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  lasted  three  days.  The  Minutes  show  ten  cir- 
cuits, and  eighteen  preachers  to  serve  them.  Mr.  Asbury 
was  stationed  in  New  York  ;  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  W.  Watters  ; 
on  Greenwich,  N.  J.,  Philip  Ebert ;  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Rankin ; 


120  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

Chester,  Pa.,  Daniel  RufF  and  Joseph  Yearbry ;  Kent,  Md., 
Abraham  Whitworth ;  Baltimore  Circuit,  George  Shadford, 
Edward  Drumgole,  Richard  Webster,  and  Robert  Lindsay ; 
Frederick  Circuit,  Philip  Gatch  and  William  Duke;  Norfolk, 
John  King;  Brunswick,  Va.,  Robert  Williams,  John  Wade, 
Isaac  Rollin,  and  Samuel  Spragg. 

The  preceding  year  had  been  one  of  prosperity :  and,  as 
the  fruit  of  ministerial  labor,  there  was  an  increase  of  forty- 
two  in  New  York  ;  in  New  Jersey,  fifty-seven  ;  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, sixty ;  in  Maryland,  five  hundred  and  sixty-three  ; 
and  in  Virginia,  two  hundred  and  ninety-one.  Maryland 
had  more  than  doubled  its  number,  and  Virginia  had  nearly 
trebled  its  members.  The  increase  was  nine  hundred  and 
thirteen,  and  the  whole  number  was  two  thousand  and 
seventy-three. 

The  w^ork  in  Jersey  was  divided  into  two  circuits  ;  and 
Chester,  in  Pa.,  Kent  and  Frederick,  in  Md.,  and  Bruns- 
wick, in  Va.,  appear  on  the  Minutes  as  new  circuits. 

Mr.  Asbury  labored  in  New  York  for  six  months,  and  then 
spent  three  months  in  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Watters,  in  May  of  this  year,  for  the  first  time, 
attended  Conference  in  Philadelphia ;  and  for  the  first  time 
preached  in  St.  George's,  before  a  Conference  of  preachers. 
He  w^as  appointed  to  Trenton  Circuit,  where  he  labored  use- 
fully this  year,  with  the  exception  of  one  quarter,  when  he 
changed  wdth  Daniel  Ruff,  and  preached  on  Chester  Circuit. 
While  here,  he  was  useful  in  healing  a  division  in  the  young 
society  in  Goshen,  Chester  county.  Abraham  Rollin,  from 
Patapsco  Neck,  in  Maryland,  who  had  a  wish  to  be  a  travelling 
preacher,  but,  on  account  of  his  extreme  roughness  and  rant- 
ing, could  not  obtain  the  sanction  of  the  Methodists,  in  the 
summer  of  this  year  came  into  Chester  Circuit,  and,  having 
made  a  party  in  this  society,  endeavored  to  settle  himself 
upon  them  as  their  minister.  He  had  influenced  some  of  the 
most  wealthy  of  the  society — George  Smith,  in  particular. 
They  were  holding  their  secret  meetings  to  carry  out  their 
plan.  Mrs.  Smith  had  had  a  dream,  in  which  she  saw  Mr. 
Watters,  before  her  eyes  beheld  him,  as  one  sent  to  deliver 
them  from  imposition ;  and,  as  soon  as  she  saw  him,  she 
recognised  him  as  the  person  she  had  seen  in  her  dream. 
The  result  was,  A.  R.  was  dismissed,  and  Mr.  Smith,  his 
wife,  and  two  daughters,  with  the  rest  that  had  broken  off 
from  the  Valley  or  Grove  society,  returned  to  it. 

Mr.  Philip  Ebert  was,  most  probably,  from  the  Western 
Shore  of  Maryland.     He  set  out  to  travel,  as  a  preacher,  in 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  121 

1773,  at  which  time  Mr.  Asbury  expressed  his  doubt  of  his 
call  to  the  work.  In  1774  he  was  appointed  to  Greenwich, 
N.  J.  After  Mr.  Whitworth's  defection,  he  went  into  Jersey 
and  converted  Ebert  to  Universalism,  and  the  Methodists 
dismissed  him  ;  both  were  expelled  in  1774. 

Mr.  Daniel  Ruff  was  a  native  of  Harford  county,  Md.,  and 
lived  not  far  from  Havre-de-Grace.  He  was  brought  to  God 
in  the  great  reformation  that  was  progressing  in  that  region 
in  1771.  In  1772  his  house  was  a  preaching  place  ;  and  in 
1773  he  began  to  exhort  his  neighbors  to  "  Flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,"  and  turned  many  of  them  to  the  Saviour. 
Of  his  usefulness,  Mr.  Asbury  thus  speaks :  "  Honest  simple 
Daniel  Ruff  has  been  made  a  great  blessing  to  these  people. 
Such  is  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God  that  he  has  wrought 
marvellously  by  this  plain  man,  that  no  flesh  may  glory  in 
his  presence."  He  was  received  on  trial  in  1774,  and  sta- 
tioned on  Chester  Circuit ;  a  part  of  the  year  he  labored  in 
Jersey. 

Chester  Circuit  had  been  growing  up  since  1769.  It  em- 
braced all  the  preaching  places  that  the  Methodists  then  had 
in  Delaware  state,  and  in  Chester  county.  The  better  half 
of  it  lay  in  the  upper  end  of  New  Castle  county,  including 
the  towns  of  New  Castle  and  Wilmington,  the  appointment 
now  called  Bethel,  above  Wilmington,  Mr.  Isaac  Hersey's, 
now  represented  at  Salem  Church,  Newport,  Christiana  vil- 
lage, Mt.  Pleasant,  and  Red  Cla}^  Creek.  In  Chester  county 
(which,  up  to  1789,  included  Delaware  county)  there  were 
appointments  for  preaching  in  Marlborough,  at  Thomas 
Ellis's,  at  Woodward's,  on  the  Brandywine,  west  of  West- 
chester, at  Samuel  Hooper's,  probably  in  Goshen,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  in  Uwchlan  and  Coventry. 

The  preachers,  in  passing  from  Philadelphia  to  Delaware 
and  Maryland,  frequently  preached  in  Old  Chester.  Most 
likely,  Captain  Webb  was  the  first ;  after  him,  Messrs.  Board- 
man  and  Pilmoor.  Mr.  Asbury  first  preached  in  this  town 
in  1772,  in  the  court-house,  "  to  one  of  the  wildest-looking 
congregations  he  had  seen  in  America,  having  the  Church 
minister,  and  many  Quakers,  to  hear  him."  Mrs.  Withey — 
who  kept  one  of  the  best  houses  of  entertainment  on  the 
continent — was  awakened  to  a  sense  of  her  need  of  a  Saviour 
the  first  time  he  officiated  in  her  house  in  family  prayer, 
which  was  on  this  occasion.  From  this  time  she  considered 
herself  a  Methodist,  and  gladly  received  the  preachers. 
Through  her  efforts  a  small  class  was  raised  up  in  Old 
Chester,  about  1800  ;  but  it  was  dissolved  again :  for,  though 
11 


122  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1774. 

the  people  were  fond  of  Methodist  preaching,  in  the  beginning 
they  did  not  like  to  be  Methodist ;  and  Methodism  was  not 
permanently  established  in  this  town  until  about  1830.  Mrs. 
Withey's  experience  was  chequered  by  doubts  and  happy  con- 
fidence. She  slept  in  Jesus  in  1810,  and  Bishop  Asbury 
preached  her  funeral  sermon. 

The  appointments  in  the  upper  end  of  New  Castle  county, 
were  mostly  made  by  Captain  Webb  and  John  King  in  1769 
and  in  1770.  At  this  time  there  were  societies  at  New 
Castle,  Wilmington,  and  Isaac  Hersey's.  It  was  some  years 
before  Methodism  was  established  at  Christiana  Village,  and 
at  New  Port.  At  the  latter  place,  at  one  time,  the  itinerants 
had  their  accommodations  in  the  houses  of  people  of  color, 
and  were  glad  to  find  even  there  a  clean  bed  to  rest  upon. 
This  was  one  of  the  shades  of  itinerancy  in  by-gone  days. 
The  appointments  at  Mount  Pleasant  and  at  Red  Clay  Creek 
did  not  succeed. 

The  preaching  places  in  Chester  county  had  been  made 
chiefly  by  Isaac  Rollins  and  Mr.  Webster.  In  this  year  a 
society  was  formed  in  Goshen.  This  was  afterwards  called 
the  "Valley  Meeting,"  and  now  it  is  known  as  the  Grrove. 
This  is  the  oldest  society  in  Chester  county,  having  continued 
from  its  first  formation,  while  several  that  once  were,  have 
ceased  to  exist.  When  this  society  was  formed,  some  of  the 
landholders  of  the  region  belonged  to  it ;  this  gave  it  perma- 
nency. Mr.  George  Hoffman  was  said  to  be  the  first  Metho- 
dist in  Chester  county.  He  joined  under  Richard  Webster, 
was  a  Methodist  fifty-five  years,  and  died,  enjoying  the  hope 
of  glory,  in  his  ninety-second  year.* 

Mr.  George  Smith  was  a  man  of  considerable  estate.  Mr. 
Daniel  Meredith  also  belonged  here.     Some  of  their  descend- 

*  A  very  racy  anecdote  is  preserved  in  relation  to  Brother  Hoffman, 
and  was  communicated  to  us  by  Dr.  A.,  a  Methodist,  -who  often  saw 
Mr.  Hoffman.  Soon  after  he  became  happy  in  religion,  it  seems  he 
was,  on  a  certain  occasion,  engaged  in  closet  devotion,  and  had  such 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  heaven  as  every  Christian  loves  to  have. 
Just  then  he  heard  a  quick  striking  over  his  head,  and  a  voice  which 
seemed  to  say  "  Yarech  !  Yarech  !  Yarech  !  "  which  is  something  like 
the  German  name  for  George,  which  was  his  Christian  name.  He  sup- 
posed himself  to  be  called,  and  concluded  that  an  angel  had  come  down 
to  invite  him  to  heaven.  Feeling  no  hesitancy  in  exchanging  a  worse 
for  a  better  world,  he  replied,  "  I  will  go  with  you  as  soon  as  I  put  on 
my  new  buckskin  breeches."  In  haste  he  put  on  his  Sunday  go-to- 
heaven  apparel ;  going  out  into  his  yard,  and  looking  up  to  see  the 
Celestial  Messenger,  to  his  great  disappointment,  instead  of  an  angel, 
he  saw  a  wood-pecker  on  his  house.  This  anecdote  was  quite  current 
among  the  old  Methodists  of  Chester  county. 


1774.]  IN  AMERICA.  123 

ants  are  still  found  among  the  Methodists  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  After  worshipping  for  a  few  years  in  a  school- 
house,  they  erected  the  Old  Stone  Chapel  in  1783. 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Grace  at  Coventry,  who  had  been  a  disciple 
of  Mr.  Whitefield,  but  was  convinced  by  reading  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's sermon  on  "Falling  from  Grace,"  when  she  became  a 
fast  friend  of  the  Methodists,  receiving,  and  comfortably 
entertaining  the  preachers  from  1774  to  the  time  of  her 
death  in  1800,  at  which  time  she  was  eighty-two  years  old. 
She  was  the  founder  of  Methodism  at  Coventry.  Her 
daughter  Mrs.  Potts,  and  her  granddaughters  Miss  Martha 
Potts,  afterwards  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Haskins,  and 
Miss  Henrietta,  subsequently  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Isaac 
James,  were  early  Methodists.  The  Coventry  society  is  second 
in  point  of  age  in  Chester  county,  following  the  Grove. 

Mr.  Asbury  often  visited  Coventry.  On  one  occasion  he 
wrote  in  his  journal,  "  Ah  !  where  are  my  sisters  Richards, 
Vanleer,  Potts,  Rutter,  Patrick,  North,  and  Grace  !  at  rest 
in  Jesus  ;  and  I  am  left  to  pain  and  toil ;  courage,  my  soul — 
we  shall  overtake  them  when  we  are  done  !" 

When  the  Methodist  chapel  was  built  in  this  village  in 
1813,  the  plan  was  furnished  by  Mr.  Asbury — and  it  was 
called  "  Grace  Church,"  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Grace.  Sister 
Stephens,  aged  about  eighty  years,  is  the  only  one  now  living 
that  belonged  to  the  first  class  at  Coventry.  For  the  last 
age  the  family  of  Mr.  George  Christman  has  been  the  chief 
family  of  Methodists  at  this  place. 

About  this  time,  1774,  the  preachers  made  an  appointment 
in  Uwchlan,  where  a  society  was  raised  up,  near  the  Little 
Eagle,  where  Benson's  Chapel  was  built  in  1781.  This  meet- 
ing was  the  parent  of  Batten's  or  Hopewell  Church ;  the 
oifspring  lives,  but  the  parent  is  no  more.  There  was  another 
preaching  place  at  Mr.  Preston's  at  Unionville ;  after  some 
years  this  ceased,  but  of  late  years  it  has  been  revived,  and 
a  church  built. 

The  following  account  of  Colonel  Caleb  North,  the  last 
field  ofiicer  of  the  Pennsylvania  line ;  and  who,  it  seems, 
was  a  native  of  Coventry,  and  one  of  the  first  race  of  Method- 
ists there,  written  by  the  Rev.  John  Kennaday,  D.  D.,  is  in- 
serted without  apology  : — 

"  He  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  July  15,  1753.  He 
early  commenced  business,  as  a  merchant,  in  the  town  of 
Coventry,  where  he  continued  until  the  commencement  of 
the  war  determined  him  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of 
his  country.     To  prepare  himself  for  usefulness   he  hired 


124  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

a  British  deserter  to  teach  him  the  manual  exercise.  Hav- 
ing been  elected  a  captain,  and  having  all  his  men  in 
perfect  uniform,  and  in  a  state  of  readiness  for  service,  his 
zeal  led  him  to  offer  himself  for  a  company  in  the  conti- 
nental establishment.  His  services  were  readily  accepted, 
and  he  was  selected  by  Col.  Anthony  Wayne  as  an  officer 
to  be  attached  to  his  regiment,  in  which  he  continued  until 
the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1776.  In  the  February  fol- 
lowing he  was  in  an  engagement  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan, 
where  he  was  much  exposed,  being  the  only  officer  on  horse- 
back, and  the  enemy  numbering  three  to  one. 

"  We  next  find  him  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  Here 
a  particular  friend  of  his.  Major  Lewis  Bush,  a  gentleman 
bred  to  the  law,  received  a  mortal  wound  near  the  side  of 
Col.  North,  who  had  him  immediately  remounted ;  but  he 
soon  fell  from  loss  of  blood,  and  expired.  As  they  re- 
treated, they  bore  his  body  upon  a  horse,  and  buried  him 
next  morning,  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia.  After  remain- 
ing some  time  in  the  neighborhood  of  Germantown,  the 
army  recrossed  the  Schuylkill.  General  Washington  drew 
off  the  troops  to  the  Yellow  Springs;  Wayne's  brigade, 
being  in  the  rear,  was  ordered  to  watch  the  enemy,  who  was 
still  moving  toward  the  Schuylkill.  On  the  second  day 
Wayne  halted  on  a  ridge,  south  of  the  Paoli  tavern,  on  the 
Lancaster  road,  where  they  remained  until  the  third  night, 
when,  about  10  o'clock,  the  outposts  failing  in  their  duty, 
they  were  surprised,  and  thrown  into  confusion.  A.  retreat 
was  effected.  Gen.  Wayne  and  Col.  North  covering  the 
retreat  with  Captain  Stout's  command.  The  next  morning, 
after  they  had  breakfasted  together,  General  Wayne  ordered 
Col.  North  to  return  to  the  field  of  battle,  to  count  the  dead, 
and  procure  some  of  the  inhabitants  to  aid  in  burying  them, 
which  service  was  performed  almost  in  sight  of  the  enemy. 

"  His  next  scene  of  action  was  the  battle  of  Germantown, 
where  his  post  w^as  one  of  much  exposure,  and  requiring 
great  activity ;  after  which  he  was  with  Washington  at  the 
Valley  Forge,  where  their  winter  sufferings  were  extreme. 
In  the  winter  of  1778-9  he  was  ordered  by  General  Wash- 
ington, with  a  detachment  of  250  men,  to  Monmouth  county, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  secured  provisions  for  the  army,  suf- 
fering much  at  Bound  Brook;  and  had  an  engagement  at 
Long  Branch,  in  which  his  success  and  conduct  were  such  as 
to  receive  a  letter  of  warm  approval  from  Gen.  Washington, 
which  letter  is  now  before  me. 

"Being  in  Gen.  Wayne's  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Mon- 


1774.]  IN    AMERICA.  125 

mouth,  he  was  marching  up  the  hill  from  which  they  were 
driving  the  enemy  by  a  charge,  when  Major  Bumur,  of 
Philadelphia,  fell  from  his  horse  slain,  and  Col.  Henry 
Miller  had  two  horses  killed  under  him.  These  officers  were 
on  each  side  of  Col.  North  in  the  charge.  He  remained  in 
the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war;  the  latter  part  of  the 
time  under  Gen.  Lincoln.  Although  in  so  many  engage- 
ments, and  so  greatly  exposed,  yet  he  never  received  a 
wound. 

"  Upon  the  restoration  of  peace  he  returned  to  his  native 
county,  and  recommenced  business.  Here  he  professed  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  became  a  member  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  though  at  what  precise  time  I  am  unable  to  say. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  hospi- 
table mansion  was  well  known  to  Bishop  Asbury,  and  the 
Methodist  clergy  of  that  day. 

*'  In  this  city  he  enjoyed  universal  respect ;  a  proof  of 
which  was  given  in  his  being  elected  several  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  select  council,  and  subsequently  high  sheriff  of 
the  county.  For  many  years  he  was  president  of  the 
Society  of  Cincinnati,  which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

"  Nor  was  Col.  North  less  distinguished  in  his  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  religion.  His  attachment  to  Methodism  was 
ardent,  deep,  and  constant.  He  was  the  active  agent  in 
purchasing  in  1806  part  of  the  Academy  built  by  Rev. 
George  Whitefield,  in  which  the  Union  M.  E.  Church  so 
long  worshipped,  and  on  which  site  their  present  edifice  is 
reared,  forming  in  itself  a  beautiful  structure,  and  giving 
evidence  that  the  zeal  of  confiding  predecessors  may  be 
fully  sustained  by  those  upon  whom  responsibility  may  sub- 
sequently rest. 

"  Between  him  and  Rev.  Thos.  Haskins  the  '  Chartered 
Fund  of  the  M.  E.  Church'  originated ;  and  from  its  com- 
mencement until  his  death  he  was  one  of  its  board  of 
trustees. 

"  Col.  North's  piety  was  remarkably  even,  as  a  subject  of 
experience,  and  strikingly  exemplary  as  developed  to  others. 
In  his  88th  year  of  pilgrimage,  he  died  at  his  recent  resi- 
dence, Coventry,  Chester  county,  November  7,  1840.  His 
death  was  calm,  his  faith  firm,  and  God  sufficient.  In  the 
midst  of  a  numerous,  weeping,  and  affectionate  family,  he 
closed  his  fulness  of  years,  not  leaving  an  enemy." 

11* 


126  RISE    OP   METHODISM  [1774. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Kent  Circuit,  the  first  formed  on  the  Peninsula,  appears 
on  the  Minutes  in  1774.  It  had  been  some  four  years  grow- 
ing up,  from  the  time  that  Mr.  Strawbridge  preached  the  first 
Methodist  sermon  at  Mr.  John  Handle's,  in  Werton,  that  was 
preached  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  The  next 
appointments  established  after  Werton  were  those  on  Bo- 
hemia Manor,  at  Mr.  Hersey's,  and  at  the  school-house  near 
Messrs.  Ephraim  and  Robert  Thompson's.  The  fourth  was 
at  Mr.  Hinson's.  The  fifth  at  Georgetown  Cross  Roads. 
Afterwards,  Mr.  Gibbs'  and  the  Still  Pond  appointment. 
Thus  far  had  the  Methodists  gone  on  this  Shore  up  to  Sep- 
tember, 1773.  Isaac  Rollin,  sent  by  Mr.  Asbury  in  Decem- 
ber, 1772,  had  been  a  good  deal  with  them,  and  some  of  them 
were  tired  of  his  philippics.  In  November,  1773,  Mr.  William 
Watters  came  to  Kent.  In  him  the  people  saw  a  serious  dig- 
nity, and  sweetness  of  spirit  combined  with  "zeal,  that  were 
every  way  agreeable  to  them,  and  the  work  prospered.  It 
was  in  the  form  of  a  two  weeks  circuit,  supplied  by  one 
preacher.  Mr.  Watters  made  some  new  appointments  for 
preaching  in  Kent.  Among  those  established  about  this 
time  we  may  mention  one  at  Newtown  Chester,  the  original 
name  of  Chestertown ;  another  at  Mr.  Solomon  Simmons, 
near  the  head  of  Sassafras.  Afterwards,  there  were  appoint- 
ments in  Quaker  Neck,  and  on  Easterly  Neck  Island.  Also, 
one  in  Cecil  county,  in  Sassafras  Neck,  known  by  the  name 
of  Johntown.  We  have  also  seen  that  Mr.  Watters  made  an 
appointment  at  Mr.  John  Fogwell's  in  1773,  who  lived  a  mile 
or  two  south  of  Sudlersville,  in  Queen  Anne's  county.  By 
this  time,  we  may  suppose,  there  were  other  appointments  in 
the  county,  especially  the  one  which  has  long  been  known  as 
"Dudley's,"  near  Sudlersville.  This  stand  was  occupied  as 
early  as  1774;  and  it  is  likely  that  a  society  was  formed  this 
year,  which  has  continued  ever  since. 

During  this  year,  the  first  Methodist  chapel  on  the  Penin- 
sula was  erected,  called  "  Kent  Meeting-House."  Just  when 
the  timbers  were  prepared  for  raising  the  house,  some  wicked 
persons,  out  of  hatred  to  the  cause,  came  by  night  and  cut 
up  a  part  of  the  frame,  and  carried  it  some  distance  and 
burned  it.  This  act  of  malevolence  did  not  stop  the  work ; 
the  friends  of  the  cause  rallied,  and  the  house  was  set  up. 


T7T4.]  IN   AMERICA.  127 

It  has  been  called  "  Hinson's  Chapel."  At  this  chapel 
rests  the  dust  of  John  Smith,  the  first  itinerant  that  came 
into  the  work  from  Kent  county,  Md.  Hero,  also,  sleep 
the  remains  of  the  Christian  philosopher,  William  Gill,  who 
with  his  fingers  closed  his  own  eyes  as  he  was  sinking  into 
the  long  sleep  of  the  grave  ;  and  were  it  said  that  he,  while 
yet  able,  preached  his  own  funeral,  we  should  receive  it  as 
characteristic  of  this  man,  who  was  so  fully  freed  from  the 
fear  of  death. 

It  would  seem  that  the  first  society  in  Kent  was  formed  in 
the  beginning  of  1773,  and  that  it  was  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  present  Hinson's  Chapel ;  nor  does  it  appear  that 
there  was  more  than  one  society  at  this  time  in  the  county. 
There  were  a  number  of  preaching  places,  such  as  Messrs. 
Handle's,  Gibbs',  Hinson's,  Howard's  in  Still  Pond,  and 
Dixon's,  at  Georgetown  Cross  Roads  :  Mr.  Kennard,  also, 
received  the  preachers.  It  was  not  long  before  societies 
were  raised  up  in  Werton,  Still  Pond,  and  Georgetown  Cross 
Roads. 

At  Mr.  Hinson's,  Mr.  Asbury  notices  a  curiosity — ^'  A 
little  woman  without  hands  or  feet ;  yet  she  could  walk,  card, 
spin,  sew,  and  knit ;  and  her  heart  rejoiced  in  God  her  Sa- 
viour." While  God  was  remembering  mercy  to  the  penitent, 
he  was  also  making  himself  known  in  wrath.  A  certain 
"  W.  F.,  who  had  threatened  to  stone  a  Methodist  preacher, 
was  suddenly  called  to  eternity."  Others,  who  had  grieved 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  cast  oiF  conviction  for  sin,  died  in 
darkness,  speaking  evil  of  the  ways  of  God. 

This  is  a  world  of  contest,  in  which  the  stronger  displace 
the  weaker.  Light  and  darkness  appear  to  be  contending 
for  the  throne  of  this  world ;  and  each  alternately  sits  upon 
it :  soon  as  the  gates  of  the  west  close  upon  the  rays  of  the 
orb  of  day,  ebon  night  is  on  the  throne,  spreading  its  raven 
wings  over  the  hemisphere.  Heat  and  cold  are  contending, 
and  each  in  turn  prevailing.  The  contest  in  the  material 
world,  carried  on  by  physical  agency,  is  very  like  the  strife 
of  the  moral  world,  kept  up  by  invisible  spirit-agency.  It 
should  not  surprise,  much  less  be  a  stumbling-block  to  any 
one,  when  those  who  profess  religion  backslide  ;  since  the 
original  parents  of  mankind  fell  from  holiness  into  sin, — 
since  Saul,  on  whom  "  The  spirit  of  God  came,  and  he  pro- 
phesied;" and,  "God  gave  him  another  heart,"  complained 
in  the  end,  "  God  is  departed  from  me,  and  answereth  me  no 
more."  Out  of  the  twelve  that  Jesus  selected  for  apostles, 
one  was  a  traitor :  "  Have  not  I  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one 


128  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

of  you  Is  a  devil?"  If  ever  j  twelfth  minister  of  the  Gospel 
should  turn  away  from  the  Saviour,  it  would  be  the  same 
proportionably,  to  that  which  took  place  in  His  own  day. 
Having  brought  to  notice  several  Methodist  preachers  who 
gave  evidence  of  their  faithfulness  unto  death,  marvel  not 
because  ^  bring  to  view  those  whose  hearts  turned  aside 
like  the  deceitful  bow. 

Mr.  Abraham  Whitworth  was  an  Englishman ;  and  tra- 
velled and  preached  in  Jersey  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1772, 
where  his  labor  was  owned  in  awakening  sinners  out  of  their 
spiritual  sleep.  It  was  under  him,  as  we  have  said,  that 
Mr.  Abbott  was  brought  to  reflection ;  and  the  second  time 
that  he  heard  him,  he  was  deeply  convicted,  and  the  deep 
of  his  heart  broken  up.  The  Conference  of  1773  received 
Mr.  Whitworth,  and  appointed  him  to  labor,  under  Mr. 
Asbury,  on  Baltimore  circuit,  which  included  the  Eastern,  as 
well  as  the  Western  Shore  of  Maryland.  In  their  quarterly 
meeting  arrangements,  it  was  divided  in  three  circuits,  and 
so  appears  on  the  minutes  of  1774,  Frederick,  Kent,  and 
Baltimore.  The  first  half  of  1773  he  labored  on  the 
Western,  and  the  latter  part,  on  the  Eastern  Shore.  He  was 
returned,  at  the  Conference  of  1774,  to  Kent  circuit. 

While  Whitworth  was  on  this  circuit,  which  extended  into 
Queen  Anne's  county,  he  had  the  rencontre  with  Parson 
Cain,  an  account  of  which  follows  : — 

"In  1774,  Abraham  Whitworth  was  stationed  on  Kent 
circuit,  and  when  he  reached  that  part  of  his  circuit  which 
lay  in  Queen  Anne's,  he  was  met  by  parson  Cain,  who  took 
exceptions  to  his  discourse,  because  the  knowledge  of  sin 
forgiven  had  been  insisted  upon.  Mr.  Cain  informed  the 
people  that  he  had  spent  so  many  years  in  such  an  academy 
— so  many  years  in  such  a  college — had  studied  divinity  so 
many  years — had  been  preaching  the  Gospel  so  many  years — 
and  he  knew  nothing  of  his  sins  being  forgiven,  or  of  his 
being  converted.  That  the  stranger  was  a  young  man 
without  college  education,  and  should  not  be  suffered  to 
preach.  To  this  Mr.  Whitworth  replied:  The  parson  has 
given  you  a  detail  of  his  great  learning,  and  has  tried  to 
make  out  that  learning  is  the  only  thing  that  prepares  a  man 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  As  for  himself,  he  could  not  boast 
of  his  learning,  but  was  of  the  opinion  that  no  man  was  fit 
to  preach  the  Gospel  unless  he  was  converted,  and  knew  that 
God  had  called  him  to  the  work  ;  and  proposed  that  the 
parson  should  choose  him  a  text  from  which  he  would  imme- 
diately preach ;  and,  afterwards,  he  would  give  the  parson  a 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  129 

text  from  which  he  should  at  once  preach,  and  the  congrega- 
tion should  judge  which  was  the  better  qualified  to  preach, 
the  parson  by  his  learning,  or  he  by  the  grace  of  God. 
The  proposition  was  popular,  and  took  with  the  assembly; 
the  parson,  however,  excused  himself  by  saying  it  was  late 
in  the  day,  and  left  Mr.  Whitworth  occupying  the  vantage 
in  the  judgment  of  the  assembly." 

Whitworth  had  scarcely  spent  two  months  on  the  circuit 
before  he  fell  into  sin,  and  was  expelled  from  the  connection. 
It  appears  that  Mr.  Abbott,  to  whom  God  frequently  spoke 
by  dreams,  was  premonished  of  his  fall.  He  says,  "  I  thought 
I  saw,  in  a  dream,  the  preacher  under  whom  I  was  awakened, 
drunk,  and  playing  cards,  with  his  garments  all  defiled  with 
dirt.  When  I  awoke  I  was  glad  to  find  it  a  dream,  although 
I  felt  some  uneasiness  on  his  account.  In  about  three  weeks 
after,  I  heard  that  the  poor  unfortunate  preacher  had  fallen 
into  sundry  gross  sins,  and  was  expelled  from  the  Methodist 
connection."  The  news  of  his  fall  reached  Mr.  Asbury,  and 
caused  him  to  remark,  "  Alas  !  for  that  man,  he  has  been 
useful,  but  was  puffed  up,  and  so  fell  into  the  snare  of  the 
devil." 

The  first  time  that  Mr.  Asbury  saw  and  heard  Mr.  Abbott 
was  in  1781,  when  he  observed,  "  Here,  I  find,  remains  the 
fruit  of  the  labor  of  that  (now)  miserable  man  A.  Whitworth; 
I  fear  he  died  a  backslider."  He  was  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  that  brought  disgrace  upon  the  cause  in  America. 
From  the  description  of  the  effect  of  his  preaching,  as  given 
by  Mr.  Abbott,  and  others,  he  was  a  powerful  preacher,  and 
qualified  to  be  useful  while  his  heart  and  life  were  right. 

There  are  those  who  can  see  nothing  but  absolute  weak- 
ness in  the  false  and  fatal  steps  of  professors  of  religion. 
Did  they  generally  fall  by  trifling  causes  and  slight  tempta- 
tions, it  might  so  appear,  but  this  is  not  the  fact.  True 
repentance  leaves  such  dislike  to  sin  in  those  who  have 
experienced  the  love  of  God,  that  it  requires  the  well-circum- 
stanced sin — some  powerful  temptation  addressed  to  the 
strongest  propensities  of  fallen  nature — to  accomplish  it.  We 
are  at  a  loss  to  say  which  most  appears,  strength  or  weak- 
ness, when  the  exclamation,  "  How  are  the  mighty  fallen," 
is  made :  since  it  requires  the  strongest  efforts  of  Satan  to 
effect  it. 

The  last  that  was  known  of  Abraham  Whitworth  by  the 
old  Methodists,  was,  that  he  joined  the  British  army  to  fight 
against  the  colonists  ;  and  it  was  generally  supposed  by 
them,  that  he  was  killed  in  some  engagement. 


130  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1774. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

From  the  Conference  of  1774  Mr.  Shadford  went  to  the 
Baltimore  Circuit  to  labor.  As  he  was  about  leaving  Phila- 
delphia, the  following  very  remarkable  incident  occurred : — 

"  When  I  went  to  the  inn  where  my  horse  was,  as  I  entered 
the  yard  I  observed  a  man  fixing  his  eyes  upon  me,  and 
looking  earnestly  until  he  seemed  to  blush  with  shame.  At 
length  he  came  up  to  me  and  said,  '  Sir,  I  saw  you  in  a 
dream  last  night.*     When  I    saw  your  back  as  you  came 

*  The  Bible  records  many  dreams,  that  God  in  His  providence  gave 
to  His  people  under  former  dispensations.  He  declared  that  He  would 
"speak  to  His  prophets  in  a  dream;"  and  aj^ain  that  "God  speaks  in 
a  dream,  though  man  perceives  it  not."  The  moral  Governor  of  this 
world  speaks  to  mankind  in  every  age.  We  have  already  brought  to 
view  several  that  seem  to  be  strongly  marked  with  Divine  origin.  ^Ye 
will  give  another  that  is  connected  with  the  introduction  of  Methodism 
into  New  England  by  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee.  Mrs.  Risley,  3Irs.  Wells, 
and  Ruth  Hall — three  women  constituted  the  first  society  that  he 
formed  there.  Mrs.  Risley  came  from  Egg  Harbor,  in  New  Jersey, 
where  the  Lord  was  working  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Method- 
ists, to  Fairfield,  Connecticut.  She  and  some  of  her  well  disposed 
female  friends  agreed  to  pray  that  the  Lord  would  send  faithful 
laborers  into  that  part  of  His  vineyard.  Not  long  afterwards  Mrs. 
Mary  Wells  dreamed  that  she  saw  a  large  man  coming  towards  her 
with  f  )ur  companies  gathering  from  the  east,  west,  north,  and  south. 
She  asked  the  stranger  what  these  great  companies  meant.  He 
answered  "The  glorious  day  is  just  at  hand."  She  awoke  with  these 
words  in  her  mind,  "  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,  for 
thereby  some  have  entertained  angels  unawares."  In  the  morning 
while  pondering  on  the  dream  and  its  import,  her  neighbor  came  in 
and  informed  her  that  a  stranger — a  minister  of  the  Gospel — was  at  her 
house,  and  that  he  was  the  happiest  man  she  ever  saw.  Mrs.  Wells 
went  home  with  her  to  see  the  man — when  lo,  it  was  the  same  person 
she  had  seen  in  her  dream !     It  was  Jesse  Lee. 

All  dreams  may  be  reduced  to  two  classes.  First,  such  as  arise  from 
human  experience — from  what  the  mind  has  been  exercised  upon 
during  the  past — what  the  individual  has  seen,  heard,  conversed  about, 
and  been  engaged  in,  whether  of  pleasure  or  profit — diseases  of  the 
body,  &c.  The  mind  in  its  nightly  reveries  reacts  the  past,  and  the 
tjoul  is  agitated  with  illusive  pleasure  and  disappointment.  Such 
dreams  are  often  imperfect — make  a  faint  impression  on  the  mind ; 
and  sometimes  are  so  broken  that  they  cannot  be  related.  This  class 
of  dreams  are  much  the  most  numerous.  The  second  class  of  dreams 
do  not  arise  from  human  experience ;  but  from  superhuman  agency. 
Some  of  these  are  supposed  to  come  from  Satan,  supplying  thoughts 
and  resolves  that  are  opposed  to  truth  and  righteousness — ^thereby  fitting 
men  for  his  service.  Other  dreams  of  this  class  come  from  God,  and 
may  be  known  by  their  impressing  holy  purposes  and  resolves ;  and 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  131 

into  the  yard,  I  thought  it  was  you ;  but  now  that  I  see  your 
face,  I  am  sure  you  are  the  person.  I  have  been  wandering 
up  and  down  this  morning  until  now,  seeking  you.'  *  Saw 
me  in  a  dream!'  said  I.  'What  do  you  mean?'  He  said, 
'  Sir,  I  did,  I  am  sure  I  did.  And  yet  I  never  saw  you  with 
my  bodily  eyes  before.  Yesterday  afternoon  I  went  as  far 
as  the  Schuylkill  river,  intending  to  cross  it;  but  became 
very  uneasy  and  could  not  go  over.  I  returned  to  this  place, 
and  last  night  in  my  sleep  I  saw  you  stand  before  me,  when 
a  person  from  another  world  bade  me  seek  for  you  until  I 
found  you,  and  said  you  would  tell  me  what  I  must  do  to  be 
saved.  He  said  that  one  mark  by  which  I  might  know  you 
was,  that  you  preached  in  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city.' 
He  next  asked,  '  Pray,  sir,  are  not  you  a  minister  ?'  I  said, 
'  Yes,  I  am  a  preacher  of  the  gospel ;  and  it  is  true  that  I 
preach  in  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  which  no  other 
preacher  in  Philadelphia  does.  I  also  preach  every  Sunday 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  in  New  Market.  I  asked  him  to  step 
across  the  way  into  a  friend's  house,  when  I  asked  him  '  from 
whence  he  came — if  he  had  a  family — where  he  was  going — 
and  if  his  wife  knew  where  he  was?'  He  said  '  He  was  from 
Jersey,  and  had  a  wife  and  children — did  not  know  where 
he  was  going,  and  that  his  wife  did  not  know  where  he  was  ; 
and   that  he   had  been  very  unhappy  for   six  months,  and 

the  use  of  such  means  as  lead  to  the  happiness  of  man  and  the  glory 
of  God.  While  this  class  of  dreams  are  fewer  in  number  they  are 
more  perfect — the  imagery  of  them  is  often  new  and  makes  a  lasting 
impression  upon  the  soul.  A  renowned  author  has  said — "  There  is 
often  as  much  superstition  in  disregarding,  as  in  attending  to  dreams;" 
but,  how  are  persons,  when  the  senses  are  closed,  when  the  eye  sees 
not,  the  ear  hears  not  the  voice  of  the  thunder,  and  when  the  sleeper 
forgets  his  sickness  and  pain  ;  made  to  see  persons  and  things  that 
they  never  saw  before,  so  that  they  are  able  to  identify  them  after- 
wards: the  question  is  plainly  this:  "How  are  the  images  of  such 
persons  and  things  impressed  upon  the  soul  when  the  senses,  the 
ordinary  medium  of  ideas,  are  locked  in  sleep?"  We  may  have  an 
answer  to  this  question  if  we  are  ready  to  receive  the  views  of  a  certain 
author — "That  the  soul  has  its  senses  analogous  to  those  of  the  body; 
and,  that  it  can,  without  injury  to  it,  leave  it  for  a  short  time ;"  and  go 
with  lightning-speed  under  the  guidance  of  some  ministering  spirit 
that  shows  it  these  objects.  In  this  way  Mrs.  Deveau  could  receive 
a  correct  idea  of  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Pilmoor,  Mrs.  Smith  of 
Mr.  Watters,  Mr.  Shadford  of  the  ship  and  wharf  at  Peel,  and  the 
Jerseyman  Avhat  sort  of  a  looking  man  Mr.  Shadford  was,  and  Mrs. 
Wells  was  enabled  to  identify  Mr.  Lee :  to  have  a  correct  idea  of  the 
appearance  of  any  one  includes  height,  thickness,  form  of  the  features, 
as  well  as  the  body,  expression  of  countenance,  and  the  apparel,  &c. 
Reader,  if  you  have  a  better  theory  by  which  to  account  for  these 
mysterious  dreams,  which  good  people  say  they  have  had,  impart  it. 


132  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

could  not  rest  any  longer  without  coming  to  Philadelphia.' 
I  advised  him  to  return  to  his  wife  and  children  and  take 
care  of  them ;  '  and  as  you  say  you  are  very  unhappy,  the 
thing  you  want  is  religion — the  love  of  God  and  all  man- 
kind— righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
When  this  takes  possession  of  your  heart,  so  as  to  destroy 
your  evil  tempers,  and  root  out  the  love  of  the  world  and 
unbelief,  then  you  will  be  happy.  In  order  to  obtain  this 
you  must  forsake  all  your  sins,  and  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  with  all  your  heart.  When  you  return  to  the  Jerseys, 
go  to  hear  the  Methodist  preachers  constantly,  and  pray  to 
God  to  bless  the  word,  and  if  you  heartily  embrace  it  you 
will  become  a  happy  man.'  While  I  was  exhorting  him  the 
tears  ran  plentifully  from  his  eyes.  We  then  all  kneeled 
down  to  pray ;  and  I  was  enabled  to  plead  and  intercede 
with  much  earnestness  for  his  soul,  and  to  commend  them 
all  to  God.  When  we  arose  from  our  knees  I  shook  his 
hand ;  he  wept  much  and  had  a  broken  heart,  and  did  not 
know  how  to  part  with  me.  He  then  set  out  for  his  home  in 
Jersey,  and  I  for  Maryland,  and  I  saw  him  no  more,  but  I 
trust  I  shall  meet  him  in  heaven.  I  remark  here  that  God 
sometimes  steps  out  of  the  common  way  of  his  providence  to 
help  some  poor  ignorant  persons,  who  have  a  degree  of  his 
fear,  and  want  to  serve  him  but  know  not  how.  When  such 
persons  pray  sincerely  to  the  Lord,  he  will  direct  them  by 
his  providence  to  some  person  or  book — to  some  means  by 
which  they  may  be  instructed  and  brought  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth." 

It  would  increase  the  interest  of  the  above  account  if  the 
name  of  the  individual  had  been  given  by  Mr.  Shadford. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Shadford  reached  Baltimore,  where  he  was 
sent  to  labor,  a  young  man  came  for  him  to  go  four  miles  in 
the  country,  to  his  father's,  to  see  his  poor  distressed  brother 
that  was  chained  in  bed  in  deep  despair — apparently  raging 
mad.  When  Mr.  S.  reached  the  house  he  was  soon  convinced 
that  all  that  the  young  man  needed  was  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners ;  he  opened  up  the  plan  of  salvation  to  him.  The  young 
man  laid  hold  of  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  said  he 
would  call  on  him  as  long  as  he  lived.  The  young  man  was 
unchained,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Redeemer  freed 
him  from  the  fetters  of  unbelief  and  guilt,  and  he  soon  began 
to  exhort  sinners  to  embrace  the  Saviour ;  he  became  a 
travelling  preacher,  and  was  remarkably  successful  in  winning 
souls. 

We  are  led  to  conclude   that  Joseph  Cromwell  was  the 


1774,]  IN    AMERICA.  133 

young  man  described  above.  He  entered  the  itinerancy  in 
1777,  and  was  stationed  this  year  on  the  Kent  Circuit.  Mr. 
Shadford  says,  "  I  followed  him  on  Kent  Circuit,  and  believe 
he  had  been  instrumental  in  awakening  a  hundred  sinners." 
Mr.  S.  spent  the  winter  of  1777  and  1778  in  Kent,  just 
before  he  returned  to  England. 

Mr.  Richard  Webster,  of  Harford  county,  Maryland,  was 
among  the  first  that  embraced  religion  when  the  Methodist 
preachers  first  came  into  his  neighborhood :  he  became  a 
Methodist  in  1768.  As  early  as  1770  his  house  became  a 
place  for  them  to  preach  at.  Soon  after  he  became  a  public 
speaker  among  them.  In  the  latter  end  of  1772,  when  Mr. 
Asbury  first  had  charge  of  the  work  in  Maryland,  he  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Webster  and  Isaac  Rollin  to  labor  under  John 
King  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  in  Kent  and  Cecil 
counties.  He  continued  to  preach  under  the  direction  of  the 
travelling  preachers  until  1774,  when  we  find  him  stationed 
in  Baltimore  Circuit. 

Mr.  Robert  Lindsay,  of  Ireland,  was  also  with  Mr.  Shad- 
ford  this  year  on  the  Baltimore  Circuit.  He  continued  in 
the  work  in  this  country  until  1777,  when  he  went  to  Europe, 
Avhere  he  travelled  and  preached  among  the  Methodists  until 
the  year  1788. 

Mr.  Edward  Drumgole  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  near  the 
town  of  Sligo,  where  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Method- 
ists in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1770.  He  had  been 
raised  a  Papist,  but  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  followers  of  Mr. 
Wesley  preach  he  was  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  religion, 
and  began  to  read  his  Bible — joined  society, — and  resolved 
to  read  his  recantation  publicly  in  the  church,  which  procured 
him  the  displeasure  of  some  of  his  relations. 

In  May  1770  he  sailed  for  America,  and  landed  in  Balti- 
more, from  whence  he  went  to  Fredericktown.  Having  a 
letter  directed  to  Mr.  Strawbridge,  in  the  fall  of  this  year 
he  heard  him  preach,  and  importuned  him  to  come  to  Fred- 
ericktown that  he  might  hear  the  truth  and  be  saved.  One 
Sunday  evening  while  he  was  praying  in  great  distress  of 
soul,  the  Lord  visited  him  with  his  salvation.  In  1773  he 
began  to  preach.  In  the  beginning  of  1774  he  was  employed 
as  a  travelling  preacher  on  Frederick  Circuit  and  at  the 
Conference  of  1774  he  was  stationed  on  Baltimore  Circuit. 
He  was  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  travelling  connection 
until  1786,  when  he  desisted.  His  labors  were  confined 
chiefly  to  Virginia  (where  he  settled  near  North  Carolina, 
probably  in   Brunswick    county),    and   in  North    Carolina. 


134  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

After  he  located,  he  continued  to  be  a  faithful  and  much 
respected  preacher.  In  1815  Mr.  Asbury  ordained  him  an 
Elder,  at  which  time  he  must  have  been  nearly  seventy  years 
old.  He  then  had  two  sons,  Edward  and  Thomas,  that  were 
local  Deacons  in  the  M.  E.  Church. 

General  Druragole,  late  a  member  of  Congress,  was  also 
his  son,  and  was  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  eloquent  speakers 
in  that  body  ;  and  he  possessed  considerable  character  as  a 
statesman.  It  would  be  gratifying  if  evidence  induced  the 
belief  that  he  was  as  religious  in  heart  and  in  life  as  his 
father,  and  as  most  of  his  father's  family  were. 

Mr.  Rankin,  after  spending  six  months  in  Philadelphia  and 
Jersey,  in  the  fall  of  this  year  made  a  second  visit  to  Mary- 
land, where  he  held  one  or  two  quarterly  meetings.  Brother 
Williams  had  come  (nearly  two  hundred  miles)  from  Virginia 
to  be  present  at  these  meetings.  Messrs.  Shadford,  Webster, 
and  Duke  were  also  present.  Mr.  R. nkin  says:  "In  the 
love-feast  the  power  of  the  Lord  descended  in  such  a  manner 
as  I  had  never  seen  since  my  landing  in  Philadelphia.  All 
the  preachers  were  so  overcome  that  they  could  scarcely 
address  the  people.  When  any  of  the  people  stood  up  to 
speak,  they  were  so  overwhelmed  that  they  were  obliged  to 
sit  down  and  let  silence  speak  His  praise.  This  meeting 
was  at  Henry  Watters' ;  it  lasted  three  hours ;  the  people 
scarcely  knew  how  to  part  asunder." 


CHAPTER  XX. 


Frederick  Circuit,  the  birth-place  of  American  Method- 
ism, had  been  slowly  growing  up  from  the  beginning  of  Mr. 
Strawbridge's  ministry  there,  about  1760,  and  first  appears 
under  this  name  in  1774.  At  this  time  Frederick  county, 
from  which  the  circuit  took  its  name,  embraced  the  counties 
of  Montgomery,  Washington,  Allegheny,  and  Carroll.  This 
circuit  covered  all  the  ground  that  the  Methodists  then  culti- 
vated in  this,  and  in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia.  For  several 
years  it  was  a  frontier  circuit,  and  the  preachers  who  travelled 
it  were  in  the  back  woods. 

Without  beinn;  able  to  o;ive  a  minute  enumeration  of  all  the 
appointments  that  were  on  this  circuit  at  this  time,  we  can 
only  mention  Pipe  Creek,  Fredericktown,  Westminster,  Dur- 
bin's,  Saxon's,  Seneca,  Sugarloaf,  Rocky  Creek,  Georgetown, 


1774.]  IN    AMERICA.  135 

and  Adams.  In  this  year  preaching  was  introduced  into 
Alexandria,  on  the  Potomac,  and  a  society  formed,  consist- 
ing of  twelve  persons,  one  of  whom  was  John  Littlejohn,  a 
man  of  superior  abilities,  and  who  was  afterwards  an  eloquent 
preacher,  and  will  be  further  noticed  under  the  year  1777. 

Frederick  county  has  been  represented  as  the  most  wealthy 
county  in  Maryland,  on  account  of  the  goodness  of  the  soil. 
It  was  settled  chiefly  by  the  Germans,  and  on  that  account 
the  progress  of  Methodism  was  slow  there.  As  a  proof,  after 
the  preachers  had  labored  and  nursed  Methodism  in  Freder- 
icktown,  now  Frederick  City,  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
they  had  only  about  thirty  members.  Preaching  was  first 
established  in  this  town  in  1770,  and  in  1801  the  first  small 
Methodist  chapel  was  built  in  it. 

In  1776  the  appointments  in  Fairfax  county  were  embraced 
in  Fairfax  Circuit,  which  reduced  the  size  of  Frederick 
Circuit ;  and  in  1788  it  was  further  reduced  by  the  formation 
of  Montgomery  Circuit. 

Mr.  Gatch  says,  "  I  went  to  Philadelphia,  where  Conference 
commenced  on  the  25th  of  May,  1774.  At  that  Conference 
five  preachers  were  taken  into  full  connection — William  Wat- 
ters,  Abraham  Whitworth,  Joseph  Gerburg,  Philip  Ebert,  and 
Philip  Gatch.  Joseph  Gerburg,  Philip  Ebert,  and  Philip 
Gatch,  and  eight  others,  were  received  on  trial.  These  were 
trying  times  to  Methodist  preachers.  Some  endured  as  see- 
ing Him  who  is  invisible,  by  faith ;  others  left  the  field  in  the 
day  of  conflict.  My  appointment  by  the  Conference  was  to 
Frederick  Circuit,  with  William  Duke,  who  was  quite  a  youth, 
for  six  months.  We  found  the  circuit  to  be  very  laborious  ; 
some  of  the  rides  were  quite  long,  and  only  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  members  in  the  society.  Fredericktown  and 
Georgetown  were  both  in  the  circuit,  but  there  were  only  a 
few  members  in  each.  Mr.  Strawbridge  and  Mr.  Owens 
lived  in  the  bounds  of  this  charge.  We  found  among  the 
few  in  society  some  steady,  firm  members,  and  in  some  places 
the  prospects  were  encouraging.  I  had  gone  but  a  fcAV 
rounds  on  the  circuit  when  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Shad- 
ford,  directing  me  to  gather  up  my  clothes  and  books,  and 
meet  him  at  the  quarterly  meeting  to  be  held  in  Baltimore. 
It  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  Whitworth  had  proved 
treacherous,  and  that  the  object  was  to  send  me  to  Kent 
Circuit.  I  accordingly  met  Mr.  Shadford  at  the  quarterly 
meeting.  It  was  a  time  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit ; 
my  own  soul  was  greatly  refreshed.  Mr.  Shadford,  at  the 
interview,  made  a  remark  which  was  afterwards  of  service  to 


136  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

me.  Said  he,  '  "When  addressing  the  people,  always  treat 
on  those  subjects  that  will  affect  your  ow^n  heart,  and  the 
feelings  of  the  hearers  will  be  sure  to  be  affected.'  I  now 
learned  that  Whit  worth  had  committed  a  grievous  sin ;  that 
his  wickedness  had  been  discovered  immediately  on  his  reach- 
ing his  circuit ;  and  that  he  had  fled,  leaving  his  family  behind, 
in  consequence  of  which  the  circuit  had  been  without  preach- 
ing since  Conference.  So  I  was  ordered  to  Kent  Circuit  to 
take  the  place  of  Whitworth. 

"  This,  under  the  circumstances,  was  a  great  trial  to  me,  for 
he  had  given  the  enemies  of  Methodism  great  ground  for 
reproach.  But  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  proceeded.  My 
first  Sabbath  appointment  was  at  the  very  place  where  he  had 
wounded  the  cause  of  God.  I  felt  both  weak  and  strong. 
There  was  assembled  a  very  large  congregation.  Many  be- 
haved quite  disorderly,  evincing  an  intention  of  treating  tlie 
service  with  contempt.  I  had  not  the  fortitude  to  reprove 
them,  knowing  the  cause  of  their  conduct.  After  I  had 
closed  my  sermon,  I  made  an  appointment  to  preach  at  the 
same  place  in  two  weeks,  and  remarked  that  I  was  sorry  they 
had  been  so  long  without  preaching,  and  that  I  hoped  they 
would  not  censure  the  Conference,  for  they  had  been  imposed 
upon  by  a  man  unworthy,  as  he  had  proved  himself  to  be, 
of  their  confidence ;  that  they  disapproved  of  the  man,  and 
of  all  such  conduct  of  which  he  had  been  guilty.  But  the 
Lord  reigneth,  and  he  often  saith,  '  Be  still,  and  know  that 
I  am  God.'  In  this  instance  he  manifested  his  power  in  an 
extraordinary  manner,  in  overruling  the  evil  which  we  feared. 
The  work  of  the  Lord  was  greatly  revived  on  this  small 
circuit.  Numbers  were  converted  at  the  different  appoint- 
ments ;  and  in  the  neighborhood  where  the  wound  was  infiict- 
ed,  the  work  of  God  was  the  most  powerful.  The  Most 
High  can  work  as  he  pleases.  His  way  is  often  in  the  whirl- 
wind. By  request  I  had  made  an  appointment  out  of  the 
bounds  of  my  circuit;  and  while  I  was  preaching  a  man 
entered  the  door  whose  countenance  excited  my  suspicion. 
He  gradually  approached  toward  me,  and  while  I  was  making 
the  closing  prayer,  he  seized  the  chair  posts  at  which  I  was 
kneeling,  evidently  intending  to  use  it  as  a  weapon  with 
which  to  attack  me ;  but  I  took  hold  of  the  short  post  and 
prevented  him  from  striking  me.  The  contest  now  became 
violent,  and  he  roared  like  a  lion,  while  I  was  upon  my  knees 
reproving  him  in  the  language  of  St.  Paul.  But  he  was  soon 
seized  by  persons  in  the  congregation,  and  thrown  with  such 
energy  out  of  the  house  that  his  coat  was  torn  in  the  back 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  137 

from  top  to  bottom.     While  in  the  yard  he  raved  like  a  demon, 
but  I  escaped  without  injury. 

"  At  this  place,  Philip  Cox,  who  afterward  became  a  useful 
preacher  in  the  travelling  connection,  was  caught  in  the 
gospel-net.  Two  young  men  who  lived  contiguous  to  my 
circuit,  who  had  been  on  a  tour  to  Virginia,  attended  Baptist 
meeting  ;  one  of  them  had  experienced  religion,  and  the 
other  was  under  conviction.  They  induced  me  to  make  an 
appointment  in  their  neighborhood.  The  parish  minister 
hearing  of  it,  circulated  through  the  parish  his  intention  to 
meet  and  refute  me.  I  heard  of  this  the  day  before  the 
appointment  was  to  take  place ;  and  I  understood  that  he 
was  a  mighty  man  of  war.  I  knew  that  I  was  weak,  and 
that  unless  I  was  strengthened  from  on  high  I  should  fail. 
I  went  to  God  in  prayer,  and  he  brought  to  my  mind  the 
case  of  David  with  the  lion,  the  bear,  and  with  Goliah.  I 
then  gathered  strength,  and  no  longer  dreaded  the  en- 
counter. 

"  The  minister  met  me  in  the  yard,  in  Episcopal  costume, 
and  asked  me  if  I  was  the  person  that  was  to  preach  there 
that  day.  I  replied,  'I  expect  to  do  so.'  He  then  asked 
me  by  what  authority.  I  answered,  '  By  the  authority 
which  God  gave  me.'  After  a  few  words  had  passed  be- 
tween us,  he  again  asked  by  what  authority  I  had  come  to 
preach  in  St.  Luke's  parish.  I  remarked  that  I  was  just 
then  going  to  preach,  and  he  might  judge  for  himself;  for 
the  Scripture  saith,  'He  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things.' 
I  stood  upon  a  platform  erected  for  the  occasion,  in  an 
orchard.  Parson  Kain  took  his  station  quartering  on  my 
right,  I  took  for  my  text,  Ezekiel  xviii.  27:  'Again,  when 
the  wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his  wickedness  that  he 
hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which  is  lawful  and  right, 
he  shall  save  his  soul  alive.'  I  concluded  that  this  sen- 
tence, which  is  contained  in  the  Church  prayer-book,  would 
not  be  taking  him  from  home.  I  knew  a  great  deal  of  the 
prayer-book  by  heart,  and  took  it  with  me  through  my 
sermon.  Mr.  Kain's  countenance  evinced  an  excited  state 
of  mind.  When  I  had  closed,  he  took  the  stand ;  and  on 
my  handing  him  my  Bible,  he  attempted  to  read  the  inter- 
view with  Nicodemus — but  he  was  so  confused  that  he  could 
not  distinctly  read  it.  From  that  passage  he  attempted  to 
disprove  the  new  birth,  substituting  in  its  stead  water  bap- 
tism. He  exclaimed  against  extemporaneous  prayer,  urging 
the  necessity  of  a  written  form. 

"When  he  had  closed  I  again  took  the  stand,  read  the  same 
12* 


138  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1774. 

passage,  and  remarked  that  we  could  feel  the  effects  of  the 
wind  upon  our  bodies,  and  see  it  on  the  trees,  but  the  wind 
we  could  not  see  ;  and  I  referred  to  my  own  experience,  as 
having  been  baptized  in  infancy,  but  was  not  sensible  of  the 
regeneration  influences  of  the  Spirit  till  the  time  of  my  con- 
version ;  that  then  it  was  sensibly  felt.  I  met  his  objection 
to  extemporary  prayer  by  a  few  Scripture  cases,  such  as 
when  Peter  was  wrecking  he  did  not  go  ashore  to  get  a  prayer- 
book,  but  cried  out,  'Save,  Lord,  or  I  perish.'  I  then  quit 
the  stand  to  meet  an  appointment  that  afternoon,  and  the 
congregation  followed,  with  the  parson  in  the  rear.  When 
leaving,  a  man  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to  preach  at  his 
house,  which  was  twenty  miles  from  the  orchard.  These 
things  are  hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed  unto 
babes. 

"  One  Sabbath,  while  I  was  preaching,  there  came  up  an 
awful  storm.  Some  of  the  people  ran  out  for  fear  the  house 
would  be  blown  over.  I  exhorted  them  to  continue  in  the 
house,  and  look  to  God  for  safety.  I  hardly  ever  saw  such 
a  house  of  prayer.  Two  were  converted  during  the  storm, 
and  our  lives  were  spared.  Salvation  is  of  the  Lord,  and 
the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  him  in  his  wonderful  ways.  I 
was  called  upon  to  visit  a  man  who  was  nigh  unto  death.  I 
was  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  meet  his  case ;  there  appeared 
to  be  something  mysterious  in  it.  I  left  him  as  I  found  him ; 
but  his  case  bore  with  such  weight  upon  my  mind  that  I 
visited  him  again,  and  dealt  plainly  with  him.  I  told  him 
plainly  that  I  thought  him  unprepared  for  his  change.  The 
Lord  sent  it  home  to  his  heart.  When  I  came  round  again, 
I  found  him  happy  in  the  love  of  God,  and  two  weeks  after  I 
preached  his  funeral. 

"  The  societies  on  the  circuit  were  much  united,  and  there 
was  a  great  door  opened  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  When 
I  left  it,  two  preachers  were  sent  on  it.  I  attended  Baltimore 
quarterly  meeting,  and  from  that  I  was  sent  into  Frederick 
Circuit  again.  Here  we  had  to  labor  hard  as  formerly. 
Some  societies  were  lively  and  on  the  increase,  but  others 
were  barren.  One  Saturday  evening,  as  I  was  going  to  my 
Sabbath  appointment,  I  had  to  pass  by  a  tavern.  As  I 
approached  I  heard  a  noise,  and  concluded  mischief  was 
contemplated.  It  was  dark,  and  I  bore  as  far  from  the  house 
as  I  could  in  the  lane  that  enclosed  the  road ;  but  they  either 
heard  or  saw  me,  and  I  was  pursued  by  two  men  on  horse- 
back, who  seized  my  horse  by  the  bridle,  and,  turning  me 
about,  led  me  back  to  the  house,  heaping  upon  me  severe 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  139 

threats,  and  laying  on  my  shoulders  a  heavy  cudgel  that  was 
carried  by  one  of  them.  After  they  got  me  back  to  the 
tavern,  they  ordered  me  to  call  for  something  to  drink ;  but 
on  my  refusal  the  tavern-keeper  whispered  to  me  that  if  I 
would  it  should  cost  me  nothing ;  but  I  refused  to  do  so, 
regardless  of  the  consequences. 

''  While  the  subject  as  to  what  disposition  was  to  be  made 
of  me  was  under  consultation,  two  of  them  disagreed,  and 
by  this  quarrel  the  attention  of  the  company  was  drawn  from 
me,  so  that  I  rode  on  my  way,  leaving  them  to  settle  the 
matter  as  best  they  could.  The  Lord  hath  made  all  things 
for  himself,  the  wicked  for  the  day  of  evil;  the  wicked 
brought  me  into  difficulty,  and  by  the  wicked  a  way  was 
made  for  my  escape. 

"  Mr.  Shadford  attended  our  quarterly  meeting  full  of  the 
spirit  of  preaching.  We  had  a  large  congregation,  and  no 
doubt  good  was  done.  This  was  a  large  circuit,  and  there 
was  a  great  diversity  in  the  manners  and  views  of  the  people 
scattered  over  such  an  extensive  country.  This  made  it 
difficult  for  a  preacher  to  suit  himself  to  all  cases ;  but  we 
had  this  consolation,  that  though  in  some  places  indifference 
and  persecution  prevailed,  yet  in  others  the  cause  was  pros- 
perous, and  many  joined  the  Church.  I  left  the  circuit  a 
short  time  before  conference,  by  direction,  and  spent  some 
time  in  New  Jersey.  Whitworth,  when  he  left  Frederick, 
had  gone  into  the  Jerseys,  and  had  poisoned  Ebert  with  the 
doctrines  of  Universalism,  and  he  had  been  dismissed.  By 
reason  of  this  the  circuit  had  been  destitute  of  preaching 
for  a  considerable  time.  When  I  had  fulfilled  my  mission 
there,  I  proceeded  to  the  Conference,  which  was  held  in 
Philadelphia,  the  19th  of  May,  1775."* 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Brunswick  Circuit,  in  Virginia,  had  been  formed  during 
the  last  two  years.  Norfolk  was  the  first  charge  formed  in 
this  province  ;  and  what  was  called  Petersburg,  in  1773,  was 
named  on  the  Minutes  of  1774,  Brunswick.  In  1772,  at 
least  three  societies  were  formed  in  this  province :  one  in 

*  Sketch  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Gatoh,  p.  30—38. 


140  *  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774. 

Norfolk,  another  in  Portsmouth,  and  a  third  at  William 
Owens's — some  six  miles  out  of  Portsmouth. 

The  following  were  some  of  the  oldest  societies  in  Vir- 
ginia : 

The  one  at  Samuel  Yeargan's,  where  the  first  Methodist 
chapel  was  built. 

The  society  at  Mr.  Nathaniel  Lee's,  was  formed  in  the 
early  part  of  1774.  It  is  most  likely  that  Mr.  Lee  was 
awakened  under  Mr.  Jarratt,  as  he  and  his  companion  had 
both  obtained  a  sense  of  the  Divine  favor  before  the  Meth- 
odists came  into  his  neighborhood.  When  this  society  was 
formed  by  Mr.  Williams,  Mr.  Lee,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Lee,  and 
their  two  sons — John  and  Jesse — belonged  to  it.  Mr.  Lee 
lived  near  Petersburg,  and  at  his  house  the  Methodists 
preached.  He  was  soon  appointed  a  class-leader,  which 
office  he  filled  for  many  years ;  and  died  in  1820,  in  the 
90th  year  of  his  age.  His  family  consisted  of  twelve 
children,  seventy-three  grandchildren,  and  sixty-six  great 
grandchildren.  His  two  eldest  sons,  John  and  Jesse,  were 
Methodist  preachers. 

At  Mr.  Lane's,  who  it  seems  lived  in  Sussex  county, 
where  the  second  chapel  was  erected  in  1774  or  1775.  Mr. 
Lane  died  this  year,  "full  of  faith,  and  hope,  and  love;" 
and  his  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Asbury.  This 
society  was  one  of  the  very  best  in  Virginia. 

Captain  William  Boisseau,  or  as  he  was  commonly  called, 
Boushell,  who,  we  suppose,  lived  in  Dinwiddie  county ;  and 
who  was  the  chief  instrument  in  building  the  third  chapel  in 
Virginia  in  1775  or  1776,  was  a  truly  devout  man,  and  soon 
went  to  the  "  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens."  After  his  death,  this  ancient  society  declined,  as 
he  was  the  chief  support  of  it. 

At  Mr.  Mabry's,  in  Greensville  county,  where  the  fourth 
meeting-house  was  built  in  1776,  there  was  one  of  the  first 
societies. 

The  meeting  at  Robert  Jones's,  in  Sussex  county,  was 
among  the  first  estabhshed.  Mr.  Joseph  Hartly,  whose  dust 
sleeps  in  Talbot  county,  Maryland,  it  seems  belonged  to  this 
society  before  he  became  a  travelling  preacher.  Here  Mr. 
Asbury  found  his  sister,  weeping  on  account  of  his  absence. 
In  1710,  Mr.  Robert  Jones  was  alive,  and  happy  in  God,  in 
his  72d  year. 

At  Merritt's  appointment,  the  society  built  a  meeting- 
house about  1778;  which  was  about  the  sixth  Methodist 
chapel  in  Virginia. 


1774.]  IN    AMERICA.  141 

The  Ellis  family  was  an  important  family  among  the 
Methodists  in  the  beginning.  The  Ellis  Chapel  was  built 
about  1780.  Several  conferences  were  held  at  it,  between 
1780  and  1790.  Ira  Ellis  was  a  man  of  great  natural 
abilities.  He,  and  several  of  the  name,  were  travelling 
preachers. 

Besides  these,  there  were  societies  at  Benjamin  Johnson's, 
Moss's,  Jay's,  Heath's,  Beddingfield's,  Woolsey's,  Warren's, 
Walker's,  Evans's,  Smith's,  Malone's,  Oliver's,  Richardson's, 
Booth's,  and  Petersburg ;  and  how  many  more  we  cannot 
say. 

The  five  preachers  that  were  stationed  in  Virginia,  had 
much  success.  Mr.  King,  though  stationed  at  Norfolk, 
spent  part  of  the  year  in  Brunswick,  and  part  in  Alexandria. 
Robert  Williams,  John  Wade,  Isaac  Rollin,  and  Samuel 
Spragg,  were  on  Brunswick.  It  was  supposed  that  five  or 
six  hundred  were  justified,  in  Virginia,  this  conference  year. 
Mr.  Williams's  colleagues — Spragg,  Wade,  and  Rollin — 
were  received  on  trial  this  year. 

Mr.  John  Wade  may  have  been  from  Virginia.  Almost 
as  soon  as  he  began  to  travel,  he  began  to  think  of  study- 
ing for  the  ministry — and,  in  view  of  this,  left  his  circuit ; 
but  was  persuaded  by  Mr.  Asbury  to  abandon  the  idea,  and 
return  to  his  circuit.  As  his  name  is  not  found  in  the 
Minutes  after  17^,  it  is  presumable  that  he  became  a  settled 
minister  in  some  church. 

Mr.  Isaac  Rollin  was  born  and  brought  up  in  Patapsco 
Neck,  near  Baltimore.  He  was  uncommonly  wicked,  until 
he  professed  to  have  obtained  religion,  which  was  when  the 
Methodist  preachers  first  came  into  his  neighborhood,  about 
1770.  He  soon  began  to  exhort;  and  in  December,  1772, 
Mr.  Asbury  appointed  him  to  labor  in  Kent  and  Cecil  counties, 
with  Richard  Webster  and  John  King.  He  was  the  third 
native  American  that  became  a  travelling  preacher  (count- 
ing Richard  Webster  as  the  second).  He  had  some  talent 
for  the  work  ;  and  in  some  fields  that  he  occupied,  he  had 
his  admirers  and  was  useful.  In  other  places,  as  in  Kent 
in  Maryland,  he  was  less  useful,  on  account  of  the  strong 
dislike  that  many  had  to  his  boisterous  manner  and  rough 
address.  While  he  was  laboring  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of 
Maryland,  he  went  up  into  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  broke  up  some  new  ground.  Here  he  was,  pro- 
bably, the  first  Methodist  preacher  that  the  people  heard. 
Methodism  entered  what  is  now  Chester  county,  at  its 
south  end,  in  Marlborough  township,  and  travelled  up  north 


142  EISE    OF    METHODISM  [1774-5. 

through  its  centre,  from  which  it  radiated  east  and  west. 
Here,  Isaac  Rollin  was  useful.  He  penetrated  the  county 
to  its  centre  early  in  1773,  and  established  several  preach- 
ing places.  He  continued  to  preach  in  these  parts  until  the 
Conference  of  1774,  when  he  was  sent  to  Virginia. 

Mr.  Samuel  Spragg  was  received  on  trial  this  year,  and 
stationed  on  Brunswick  Circuit.  In  1775  and  in  1776,  he 
was  stationed  in  Philadelphia.  In  1777,  he  was  appointed 
to  Frederick  Circuit.  After  this,  until  1783,  his  name  is 
not  in  the  Minutes  ;  but  it  appears  that  he  was  in  New  York, 
officiating  in  Wesley  Chapel.  When  the  British  army  took  pos- 
session of  New  York,  it  took  possession  of  all  church  edifices 
whose  ministers  favored  the  American  cause.  As  many  of 
the  New  Y'ork  Methodists  were  loyal,  Wesley  Chapel  was  in 
better  repute  with  the  British  officers  ;  and,  we  must  suppose 
that  Mr.  Spragg  was  either  an  Englishman,  or  loyal  in  his 
sentiments,  or  had  some  of  Talleyrand's  policy,  by  which  he 
could  hold  position,  no  matter  what  party  was  in  power.  He 
served  the  people  worshipping  in  Wesley  Chapel  more  than  five 
years,  and  received  the  best  pecuniary  support  of  any  Metho- 
dist preacher  in  America  at  the  time ;  he  received,  while  in  New 
Y^'ork,  nearly  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum.  The  British 
officers  and  soldiers  attended  Wesley  Chapel,  and  contributed 
to  his  support.  Under  his  ministry,  Eichard  Leaycraft  was 
converted  and  joined  the  Methodists.  He  moved  to  Newark, 
N.  J.,  where  he  was  the  germ  of  Methodism ;  he  died  at  a 
great  age. 

In  1783,  the  Minutes  say  Samuel  Spragg  and  John 
Dickins  were  stationed  in  New  York.  Soon  after,  Mr. 
Spragg  left  the  Methodists,  and  united  with  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church ;  and  preached  in  the  old  church  in  Eliza- 
bethtown,  N.  J.,  where  he  died,  and  was  buried.  In  the 
church  of  which  he  was  the  pastor,  there  is  erected  a  tablet 
to  his  memory.  (See  "Lost  Chapters,"  from  p.  279  to  p. 
290.) 

In  October,  1774,  three  preachers,  James  Dempster,  Mar- 
tin Rodda,  and  William  Glendening  arrived  from  England ; 
the  first  two  were  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley.  They  will  be  fur- 
ther noticed  hereafter. 


1775.]  IN   AMERICA.  143 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

In  May,  1775,  the  third  Conference  was  held  in  Phila- 
delphia. The  Minutes  show  ten  stations,  and  there  were 
twenty  travelling  preachers.  In  1774,  the  Methodists  had 
their  greatest  success  south  of  the  Potomac,  where  their  in- 
crease was  664.  The  increase  north  of  the  Potgmac  was 
411,  making  a  gain  of  1075  throughout  the  work.  The 
whole  number  of  Methodists  returned  at  this  Conference 
was  3148. 

There  was  no  new  circuit  taken  in  this  year,  according  to 
the  Minutes. 

Mr.  James  Dempster  was  a  native  of  Edinburgh,  in  Scot- 
land, and  was  educated  in  the  university  of  this  city.  In 
1765,  he  was  received  as  a  travelling  preacher  by  Mr.  Wes- 
ley ;  and  continued  to  labor  as  such  in  England,  until  he  was 
sent  by  Mr.  Wesley,  to  labor  as  a  missionary  in  America. 
He  arrived  in  this  country  in  the  latter  end  of  1774,  and 
commenced  preaching  in  New  York,  where  he  was  stationed 
in  1775.  His  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Minutes  after 
this  year.  We  suppose  Mr.  Asbury  refers  to  him,  when  he 
says,  "  I  received  from  Mr.  Raukin  a  full  account  of  what 
related  to  the  unhappy  Mr.  D."  Whatever  it  was,  it  is 
veiled  in  mystery.  His  connection  with  the  Methodists 
ceased,  and  he  connected  himself  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  which,  it  appears,  he  was  an  acceptable  minister. 
He  was,  for  many  years,  the  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  church 
in  the  town  of  Florida,  in  Montgomery  county.  New  York, 
where  he  died,  in  1803.  The  Rev.  John  Dempster,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  is  his  son  ;  and  has  been  favor- 
al;ly  known,  for  many  years,  as  an  acceptable  and  talented 
minister.  He  was,  for  several  years,  a  missionary  in  South 
America,  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

There  were  three  preachers — John  King,  Daniel  Ruff,  and 
William  Duke — stationed  in  New  Jersey  this  year.  Samuel 
Spragg  was  in  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  King,  in  December  of  this  year,  went  to  Virginia,  and 
took  a  wife;  he  was  the  second  itinerant  that  married,  and, 
it  seems,  married  a  Virginian.  During  this  year,  Mr.  Wes- 
ley addressed  the  following  letter  to  him : — 

"  I  advised  you  once,  and  you  took  it  as  an  affront ;  never- 
theless, I  will  do  it  once  more.  Scream  no  more,  at  the 
peril  of  your  soul.     God  now  warns   you  by  me,  whom  he 


144  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1775. 

has  set  over  you.  Speak  as  earnestly  as  you  can,  but  do 
not  scream.  Speak  with  all  your  heart,  but  with  a  moderate 
voice.  It  was  said  of  our  Lord,  'He  shall  not  cry;'  the 
word  properly  means,  he  shall  not  scream.  Herein  be  a 
follower  of  me,  as  I  am  of  Christ.  I  often  speak  loud,  often 
vehemently;  but  I  never  scream.  I  never  strain  myself ;  I 
dare  not ;  I  know  it  would  be  a  sin  against  God  and  my  own 
soul.  Perhaps  one  reason  why  that  good  man,  Thomas  Walsh, 
yea,  and  John  Manners,  too,  were  in  such  grievous  darkness 
before  they  died,  was  because  they  shortened  their  own  lives. 
0,  John  !  pray  for  an  advisable  and  teachable  temper.  By 
nature  you  are  very  far  from  it ;  you  are  stubborn  and  head- 
strong. Your  last  letter  was  written  in  a  very  wrong  spirit. 
If  you  cannot  take  advice  from  others,  surely  you  might 
take  it  from  your  affectionate  brother, 

"J.  Wesley." 

It  seems  he  was  not  fully  cured  ;  for  Mr.  Asbury  heard 
him  preach  in  Baltimore  the  same  year,  and  says,  "J.  K. 
preached  a  good  and  profitable  sermon ;  but  long  and  loud 
enough."  In  1777,  his  name  appears  for  the  last  time  in 
the  Minutes,  when  he  stands  for  North  Carolina.  He 
located  and  lived  near  Raleigh,  in  this  state,  where  he  died, 
not  long  afterwards. 

Mr.  Richard  Webster,  in  1775,  was  stationed  in  Chester 
Circuit,  Pa.  After  this,  it  appears,  that  as  he  had  a  family 
that  required  him  at  home,  he  located.  Messrs.  Ruff  and 
Webster  were  the  first  preachers  on  Chester  Circuit,  after  it 
was  formed,  and  noticed  in  the  Minutes  in  1774. 

We  insert  the  following  anecdote,  which  we  received  from 
an  old  Methodist  of  excellent  memory : — Near  Old  Chester 
lived  Mr.  James  Barton,  who  had  been  raised  a  churchman, 
and  was  awakened  to  a  sense  of  inward  religion  without 
human  means.  Observing  that  ministers  and  members  in 
his  church  were  dead  and  careless,  and  finding  some  living 
testimonies  among  the  Friends,  he  w^as  led  to  join  them ; 
and  adhered  to  them  for  twenty  years,  and  became  a  public 
speaker  in  their  meetings.  About  the  time  that  Messrs. 
Ruff  and  Webster  were  preaching  on  Chester  Circuit,  he 
dreamed  that  he  saw  two  men  moving  through  his  region, 
using  iron  flails,  with  which  they  subdued  the  hills  and  the 
mountains,  and  nothing  could  resist  their  operation.  Friend 
Barton  had  read  the  promise,  that  God  would,  '•  Make  a  new, 
sharp  threshing  instrument,  that  should  thresh  the  mountains 
small,  and  make  the  hills  as  chaff;"  and  when  he  heard  these 
two  primitive  Methodist  preachers  speaking  in  the  power 


1774.]  IN   AMERICA.  145 

and  demonstration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  concluded  his 
dream  was  fulfilled:  that  Messrs.  Ruff  and  Webster  were 
the  two  men — their  energetic  manner  of  preaching  Christ, 
the  flail  that  subdued  the  hills  and  mountains  of  sin  and 
enmity  in  sinners — reducing  them  to  obedience  to  Christ. 
Friend  Barton  united  with  the  Methodists,  and  bore  his 
testimony  that  God  was  with  them.* 

After  Mr.  Webster  located,  he  did  not  relax  his  efforts  to 
do  good  in  his  own  neighborhood,  for  nearly  fifty  years.  In 
the  latter  end  of  his  life,  there  was  a  neat  church  built  under 
his  direction,  in  the  forest  called  "Calvary."  In  1824, 
Mr.  Garretson,  who  had  known  him  for  fifty  years,  visited 
him,  a  little  before  his  death.  He  says,  he  "  Found  him, 
like  a  ripe  shock  of  corn,  waiting  to  be  taken  to  the  garner 
of  rest.  I  had  SAveet  fellowship  with  him.  I  bless  God  for 
the  opportunity  of  conversing  Avith  him."  He  was  gathered 
home  in  May,  1824,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  years. 

He  left  a  large  number  of  children  and  grandchildren, 
living  in  the  same  region.  The  Rev.  John  Davis,  of  the 
Baftimore  Conference,  married  a  relation  of  his.  Mr.  W  eb- 
ster  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  George  Smith,  one  of  the 
first  Methodists  of  Chester  county,  near  to  the  Grove  Meet- 
ing. Some  of  his  relations  by  name,  live  about  Downingtown, 
in  Chester  county.  Pa.  A  goodly  number  of  his  descendants 
still  cleave  to  the  Methodists. 

From  the  Conference  of  1775,  two  preachers — Philip  Gatch 
and  John  Cooper — according  to  the  Minutes,  were  station- 
ed on  Kent.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  times  to  change 
during  the  year  ;  both  these  preachers  changed  fields  of  labor 
during  the  year.  John  Cooper  was,  probably,  from  the 
Western  Shore  of  Maryland, — he  was  received  this  year.  He 
continued  fifteen  years  in  the  work,  until  death  removed  him 
to  his  reward.  His  first  appointment  was  to  Kent  Circuit. 
He  was  also  laboring  on  the  Peninsula  in  1778,  and  assisted 
in  planting  Methodism  in  the  lower  end  of  Caroline,  and  in 
Sussex  and  Somerset  counties.  He  was  a  useful  preacher — 
too  modest  to  complain  when  in  want,  and  waited  to  be  ob- 
served and  relieved  by  his  friends.  His  last  appointment 
was  to  Harford  Circuit,  where  he  made  a  peaceful  end. 

The  following  is  Mr.  Gatch's  account  of  Mr.  Cooper,  and 
of  their  labor  and  sufferings  at  this  time  : — 

*'  I  was  appointed  by  the  Philadelphia  Conference  to  Kent 
Circuit,  with  John  Cooper  for  my  colleague,  a  young  man 

*  His  grandson,  Dr.  Barton,  lives  at  Village  Green,   in  Delaware 
county,  Pa.,  and  is  a  Methodist  of  sterling  value. 
13 


146  RISE    OP   METHODISM  [1775. 

that  I  had  recommended  to  the  Conference.  The  first  time 
I  saw  him  was  at  a  meeting  on  Frederick  Circuit.  I  had 
heard  of  him  before.  He  was  a  young  man  of  a  solemn  and 
fixed  countenance,  and  had  suffered  much  persecution.  At 
one  time,  when  on  his  knees  at  prayer,  in  an  apartment  of 
his  father's  house,  he  was  discovered  by  his  father,  w^ho 
threw  a  shovel  of  hot  embers  upon  him,  and  afterwards 
expelled  him  from  his  house.  His  public  services  were 
solemn,  and  his  life  was  exemplary.  He  lived  and  died  in 
the  travelling  connection. 

"I  took  the  circuit  at  Luke's  parish.  After  the  first  service 
was  over  a  man  came  to  me  and  told  me  some  gentlemen  out 
of  doors  wished  to  speak  with  me.  Here  I  had  to  appear 
before  parson  Kain  and  others.  The  parson  had  a  great 
many  questions  to  ask  me,  and  I  answered  them  ;  but  he 
could  get  no  advantage  of  me.  A  man  standing  at  my  left 
undertook  me,  whom.  I  had  known  when  on  the  circuit  before. 
He  expressed  a  wish  to  be  considered  friendly.  I  felt  dis- 
posed to  hit  him,  and  I  replied  that  I  could  not  talk  to  two 
at  once ;  and  turning  to  a  man  on  my  right  hand,  I  observed, 
*  Here  seems  to  be  a  reasonable  man,  I  will  answer  him  any 
question  he  may  be  pleased  to  ask.'  I  knew  not  the  man; 
I  knew  not  the  individual,  but  the  remark  made  a  friend  of 
the  mammon  of  unrighteousness.  He  became  very  friendly ; 
but  I  was  informed  that  some  time  before  he  attended  a 
meeting,  and  after  service  invited  the  preacher  up  stairs,  and 
shortly  after  they  came  tumbling  down  stairs.  Pretend- 
ing to  wish  some  conversation  with  the  preacher,  he  laid 
hold  on  him  violently.  The  Lord  can  make  the  wicked  a 
ransom  for  the  righteous.  Parson  Kain's  flock  soon  became 
scattered,  and  his  place  was  lost,  so  that  he  troubled  us  no 
more. 

"  Before  I  got  around  my  circuit  I  was  taken  Avith  the 
small-pox,  which  disease  I  had  probably  taken  while  in  Phila- 
delphia ;  but  having  no  knowledge  that  I  was  exposed  to  it, 
my  system  was  unprepared  for  it.  I  suffered  indescribably, 
and  for  a  time  my  life  was  despaired  of.  The  family  with 
whom  I  lay  sick  was  large,  and  it  brought  great  distress  upon 
them.  Two  of  them  died — the  father,  and  a  young  lady  who 
lived  with  the  family.  This  caused  me  great  distress  of 
mind,  though  at  times  I  had  such  manifestations  of  the  love 
of  God,  that  I  Vy'as  sustained.  While  unable  to  travel,  Mr. 
Rankin  sent  a  young  man  on  the  circuit,  lately  arrived  from 
Ireland.  Like  Jonah,  he  had  fled  from  the  Lord ;  but  he 
brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Boardman  to  Mr. 


1775.]  IN  AMERICA.  147 

Rankin,  which  requested  him  to  put  the  young  man  imme- 
diately on  a  circuit.  After  I  recovered  two  of  us  were  em- 
ployed on  the  circuit,  and  one  visited  those  places  not  yet 
taken  into  the  regular  work.  By  this  means  we  enlarged 
our  borders.  Our  quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  St.  Luke's 
parish.  Mr.  Rankin  was  with  me.  Great  threats  had  been 
made  against  this  meeting,  but  it  passed  off  without  interrup- 
tion. About  this  time  the  young  man  who  had  been  con- 
verted and  joined  the  Baptists  in  the  South,  and  who  was  in- 
strumental in  introducing  the  gospel  into  St.  Luke's  parish, 
fell  sick  unto  death.  I  visited  him,  conversed  with  him  on 
subjects  suited  to  his  condition,  prayed  with  him,  kissed  him, 
and  parted  with  him  till  the  resurrection  of  the  just.  While 
on  this  circuit  I  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing  Captain 
Webb  preach.  He  spoke  much  on  the  important  point  of 
introducing  Methodism  into  the  colonies,  in  a  most  solemn, 
and  impressive,  and  practical  manner. 

"  I  left  Kent  Circuit  in  the  fall,  and  was  in  Baltimore  town 
and  Circuit  for  some  time.  When  I  went  round  the  circuit 
I  found  John  Lawson's  house  a  preaching  place.  He  then 
related  the  exercise  of  mind  through  which  he  passed  when  I 
first  introduced  preaching  into  his  neighborhood.  Glory  to 
God  !  the  man  who  was  once  a  great  trial  to  me,  when  refus- 
ing me  the  privilege  of  holding  meeting  in  his  house,  is  now 
a  comfort  to  me  ;  but  the  Lord  took  care  of  me,  and  pro- 
vided me  a  house  in  which  to  speak  his  word.  It  encourages 
me  still  to  think  of  the  great  goodness  of  God  to  me  when  I 
was  but  a  child.  The  preacher  in  Frederick  Circuit  was 
under  a  business  necessity  of  coming  into  Baltimore  ;  so  vre 
exchanged,  and  I  went  to  Frederick  the  third  time.  I  was 
glad  to  see  my  old  friends,  but  persecution  raged  in  some 
places  on  the  circuit.  I  was  called  on  to  preach  about  ten 
miles  below  the  circuit,  where  two  Baptist  preachers  had  a 
short  time  before  been  taken  from  the  stand.  The  friends 
supposed  that  I  would  be  treated  in  like  manner ;  but  I  went 
trusting  in  the  Lord.  When  I  arrived  there  three  of  the 
great  ones  of  the  earth  were  in  waiting  to  receive  me ;  one 
of  them  examined  my  doctrines,  and  when  he  found  they 
were  not  Calvinistic,  he  said  no  more.  They  all  remained 
and  heard  me  through.  At  a  third  appointment  in  the  same 
place — it  being  at  the  house  of  a  widow  lady — a  large  man 
met  me  at  tlie  door,  and  refused  to  let  me  go  in.  He  claimed 
some  connection  with  the  family,  from  which  he  imagined  his 
right  to  act  as  he  did.  A  small  man  present  said  his  house 
was  close  by,  and  if  I  would  preach  there  I  should  be  wel- 


148  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1775. 

come.  The  other  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  he  was  doing. 
He  said  yes,  and  let  any  person  interrupt  if  he  dared. 

*'  In  the  world  there  is  tribulation,  but  in  Jesus  there  is 
peace.  Generally  where  the  work  of  God  prospered  most, 
persecution  raged  with  the  most  violence.  There  was  a  large 
society  between  Bladensburg  and  Baltimore,  at  which  I  had 
preached  in  the  forenoon,  and  was  on  my  way  to  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  evening.  I  had  heard  that  a  man,  whose  wife 
had  been  convicted  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  AVebster, 
intended  to  revenge  himself  on  me  that  afternoon.  We  saw 
them  at  a  distance,  for  there  was  a  large  company  with  me 
of  men,  women,  and  children.  I  was  not  in  the  least  intimi- 
dated. Two  of  the  company  met  us,  and  demanded  my 
pass.  I  told  them  that  I  was  not  so  far  from  home  as  to  need 
a  pass.  They  caught  my  horse  by  the  bridle,  and  said  I 
should  go  before  a  magistrate.  I  told  them  the  only  objec- 
tion I  had  to  that  was,  it  would  be  taking  me  out  of  my  way. 
By  this  time  a  third  one  came  up,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  the 
great  orator  they  had  there.  My  feelings  were  composed, 
and  I  inquired  of  him  why  he  would  like  to  know.  He  said 
he  had  heard  me.  I  then  asked  him  how  he  liked  my  dis- 
course. He  replied  that  a  part  of  it  he  liked  well  enough. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  disposition,  and  went  to  the  place 
with  no  intention  of  joining  my  assailants.  I  afterwards 
understood  they  charged  him  with  being  cowardly  ;  but  rather 
than  lie  under  the  imputation,  he  sacrificed  his  conscience. 
Come  out  from  the  wicked.  Evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners,  both  toward  God  and  man. 

*'  Those  that  were  in  waiting  hailed  the  men  that  had  me 
in  custody ;  so  I  was  conducted  to  the  mob,  and  all  further 
ceremony  ceased.  The  tar  was  applied,  commencing  at  my 
left  cheek.  The  uproar  now  became  very  great,  some  swear- 
ing and  some  crying.  My  company  was  anxious  to  fight  my 
way  through.  The  women  were  especially  resolute  ;  they 
dealt  out  their  denunciations  against  the  mob  in  unmeasured 
terms.  With  much  persuasion,  I  prevented  my  friends  from 
using  violent  means.  I  told  them  I  could  bear  it  for  Christ's 
sake.  I  felt  an  uninterrupted  peace.  My  soul  was  joyful  in 
the  God  of  my  salvation. 

"  The  man  who  ofiiciated  called  out  for  more  tar,  adding 
that  I  was  true  blue.  He  laid  it  on  liberally.  At  length 
one  of  the  company  cried  out  in  mercy,  *  It  is  enough.'  The 
last  stroke  made  with  the  paddle  with  which  the  tar  was 
applied,  was  drawn  across  the  naked  eyeball,  which  caused 
severe  pain,  from  which  I  never  entirely  recovered.     In  tak- 


1775.]  IN    AMERICA.  149 

ing  cold  it  often  became  inflamed,  and  quite  painful.  I  was 
not  taken  from  my  horse,  which  was  a  very  spirited  animal. 
Two  men  held  him  by  the  bridle,  while  the  one,  elevated  to 
a  suitable  height,  applied  the  tar.  My  horse  became  so 
frightened  that  when  they  let  him  go  he  dashed  off  with  such 
violence  that  I  could  not  rein  him  up  for  some  time,  and  nar- 
rowly escaped  having  my  brains  dashed  out  against  a  tree. 
If  I  ever  felt  for  the  souls  of  men,  I  did  for  theirs.  When 
I  got  to  my  appointment,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  so  over- 
powered me,  that  I  fell  prostrate  in  prayer  before  him  for 
my  enemies.  The  Lord,  no  doubt,  granted  my  request,  for 
the  man  who  put  on  the  tar,  and  several  others  of  them,  were 
afterwards  converted. 

"  The  next  morning  a  man  who  was  not  a  professor  of 
religion,  came  to  the  house  where  I  had  lodged  the  previous 
night,  and  calling  out  my  host,  he  informed  him  that  a  mob 
intended  to  attack  me  that  morning  on  my  way  to  my  ap- 
pointment. They  agreed  among  themselves — I  was  not  yet 
let  into  the  secret — that  the  man  of  the  house  should  take 
the  main  road,  and  that  the  informant  should  conduct  me  by 
a  different  road  not  so  likely  to  be  interrupted.  We  pro- 
ceeded some  distance,  when  we  discovered  horses  tied,  and 
men  sauntering  about  at  a  cross-road.  My  guide  thought  it 
was  rather  a  suspicious  state  of  things,  and  bore  off,  con- 
ducting me  by  a  circuitous  route  to  my  appointment.  My 
friend,  who  had  taken  the  main  road,  came  to  a  bridge, 
beneath  which  several  men  had  concealed  themselves ;  and 
as  soon  as  they  heard  the  noise  on  the  bridge,  they  came 
rushing  out  with  weapons  in  hand.  When  they  discovered 
their  disappointment,  they  appeared  to  be  somewhat  con- 
fused. The  man  assumed  surprise,  and  inquired  what  was 
the  design  of  the  movement.  At  length  they  replied,  though 
with  apparent  reluctance,  that  they  were  waiting  for  the 
preacher.  '  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  him  ?'  inquired 
the  man.  '  Why,  we  are  going  to  tie  him  to  a  tree,  and  whip 
him  till  he  promises  to  preach  no  more,'  was  their  answer. 
The  group  seen  by  myself  and  guide  was  a  detachment,  I 
afterwards  learned,  from  the  same  company,  designed  to  pre- 
vent the  possibility  of  my  escape.  But  the  snare  was  broken, 
and  I  escaped. 

"  Then  it  was  reported  that  I  had  been  shot  in  an  attempt 
to  rob  a  man ;  that  I  was  blacked,  but  on  being  washed  was 
found  to  be  Gatch,  the  Methodist  preacher.  I  suppose  they 
thought  they  had  succeeded  so  far  as  to  deter  me  from  ever 
coming  back  again.  But  in  four  weeks  I  put  to  silence  the 
13* 


150  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1775. 

report.  I  never  missed  an  appointment  from  the  persecu- 
tion through  which  I  had  to  pass,  or  the  danger  to  which  I 
was  exposed.  At  another  appointment  there  was  a  number 
of  guards  brought  for  defence  ;  if  the  mob  had  come  accord- 
ing to  expectation,  I  suppose  there  would  have  been  a  con- 
flict. I  sometimes  felt  great  timidity,  but  in  the  hour  of 
danger  my  fears  always  vanished.  This  I  considered  a  clear 
fulfilment  of  the  promise  which  says,  '  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always.' 

"A  very  worthy  young  man,  who  was  an  exhorter  and 
class- deader,  was  in  the  employment  of  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  living  near  Bladensburg ;  and  while  laboring  in  the 
field,  some  of  the  persecutors  whipped  him  so  cruelly,  that 
the  shirt  upon  his  back,  though  made  of  the  most  substantial 
material,  was  literally  cut  to  pieces.  His  employer  took  the 
matter  in  hand,  and  had  them  arraigned  before  the  court,  and 
they  were  severely  punished.  This  put  an  end  to  persecu- 
tion in  Frederick  Circuit.  Our  last  quarterly  meeting  for 
the  year  was  held  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bladensburg. 
Mr.  Rankin  was  with  us,  and  I  gave  them  my  last  address 
with  a  feeling  heart,  and  set  out  for  Conference,  to  be  held 
in  Baltimore,  May  21,  1776." 

Mr.  Martin  Rodda  entered  into  the  itinerancy  under  Mr. 
Wesley  in  1763.  In  the  latter  end  of  1774  he  came  with 
Mr.  Dempster  to  America,  by  Mr.  Wesley's  authority,  to 
preach  as  a  missionary.  In  1775,  he  had  charge  of  Balti- 
more Circuit ;  his  colleagues  were,  Richard  Owen  and  John 
Wade. 

Mr.  Richard  Owen,  the  first  Methodist  preacher  raised  up 
in  America,  was  a  local  preacher  living  in  Baltimore  Circuit, 
on  which  circuit  he  was  appointed  to  labor  this  year  as  a 
temporary  supply.  Although  his  name  is  printed  in  the 
Minutes  this  year,  it  is  not  said  that  he  was  received  into 
the  travelling  connection  until  1785.  In  1786,  he  died  in 
Leesburg,  Virginia,  where  he  was  laboring.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  had  been  preaching  fifteen  or  sixteen  years. 
Though  he  had  charge  of  a  large  family,  he  travelled  and 
preached  much  as  a  local  preacher,  in  what  was  then  the 
back  settlements,  when  Methodism  was  in  its  infancy.  "  He 
was  a  man  of  honest  heart,  plain  address,  good  utterance, 
and  sound  judgment;"  and  for  the  last  two  years  of  his  life 
he  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  the  work  of  saving  souls — he 
was  an  excellent  man,  and  a  useful  preacher. 

Mr.  Rankin,  in  his  travels,  came  in  July  of  this  year  to 


1775.]  IN    AMERICA.  151 

Maryland,  and  preached  at  the  Gunpowder  Chapel.  From 
here  he  went  to  Mr.  Gough's,  at  Perry  Hall,  who,  with  his 
wife,  were  warm  in  their  first  love. 

In  the  latter  end  of  it,  he  spent  a  quarter  in  New  York. 

In  May,  1775,  Mr.  Watters  attended  Conference  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  was  appointed  to  Frederick  Circuit,  in  Maryland, 
where  he  spent  six  months,  and  saw  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
prospering.  While  here,  he  often  lodged  in  cabins,  eat  a  dry 
morsel,  and  made  the  woods  his  study. 

In  1775  there  was  the  first  great  revival  on  Frederick 
Circuit — some  two  hundred  were  added  to  the  societies.  The 
other  half  of  this  year  he  spent  in  Fairfax  Circuit.  In  this 
circuit  he  saw  the  greatest  work  of  religion  that  he  had  ever 
seen.  One  of  the  converts  was  Nelson  Reed,  who  was  long 
a  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  Mr.  Strawbridge  was 
his  colleague  on  Frederick  Circuit. 

From  the  Conference  of  1775,  Mr.  Asbury  went  to  the 
Norfolk  Circuit.  Embarking  at  Cecil  Court-house  on  Bo- 
hemia Manor,  he  arrived  there  in  May,  and  found  about 
thirty  undisciplined  Methodists  in  society  in  Norfolk.  The 
preaching-house  was  an  old  shattered  building  that  had  been 
a  play-house.  lie  soon  moved  a  subscription  for  building  a 
church  ;  but  owing  to  the  ill  fate  of  the  place,  which  was 
burned  down  the  following  winter,  by  order  of  the  royal 
governor,  Methodism  was  crushed  in  Norfolk  for  several 
years.  It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
that  they  had  a  good  place  of  worship.  In  1803,  Mr.  As- 
bury says  the  new  church  in  this  place  is  the  best  house  the 
Methodists  have  in  Virginia.  There  was  a  society  at  Ports- 
mouth, and  some  place  to  preach  in;  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  Methodists  erected  a  new  church  in  this  place  until 
1800.  There  were  societies  at  New  Mill  Creek,  and  at  Wil- 
liam Owen's.  There  were  about  ten  appointments  on  Norfolk 
Circuit,  one  of  which  was  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Williams.  This  was  Mr.  Asbury's  first  visit  to  Virginia,  and 
like  most  of  the  early  preachers,  he  became  very  much  at- 
tached to  it,  and  wrote  in  his  Journal,  "  Virginia  pleases  me 
in  preference  to  all  other  places  where  I  have  been." 

We  have  formed  a  very  high  opinion  of  the  first  race  of 
Virginia  Methodists :  they  were  of  the  old  stamp.  In  addi- 
tion to  a  deep  vein  of  piety,  they  had  a  sweetness  of  spirit 
and  a  blandness  of  manner  which  made  them  exceedingly 
agreeable.  We  very  much  doubt  whether  they  have  been 
surpassed.  Mr.  Asbury  spent  more  of  his  time,  after  coming 
to  this  country,  in  Virginia  than  in  any  other  state. 


152  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1775. 

Messrs.  Shadford,  Lindsay,  Druragole,  Williams,  and 
Grlendenning  were  stationed  on  Brunswick  Circuit,  where 
they  had  much  fruit. 

Mr.  William  Glendenning  was  a  Scotchman,  and  came  to 
America  in  1774  with  Messrs.  Dempster  and  Rodda,  and 
was  received  on  trial  at  the  Conference  of  1775.  In  1784, 
while  travelling  in  Brunswick,  in  Virginia,  his  mind  became 
dark,  and  his  religious  comfort  left  him.  At  the  Christmas 
Conference  of  1784,  he  warmly  refused  to  go  to  Nova  Scotia 
as  a  missionary.  At  the  same  Conference  he  was  proposed 
for  the  elder's  office,  and  rejected  on  account  of  lack  of  gifts. 
Soon  after,  while  Mr.  Asbury  was  at  prayer,  he  said  "  He 
felt  all  light  of  God's  mercy  take  its  flight  from  him,  as  in  a 
moment."  His  soul  sunk  into  the  depths  of  despair;  and  in 
the  following  summer  he  stopped  travelling. 

He  was  in  a  strange  way — something  like  that  in  which 
Mr.  John  Haim  was  at  one  time.  He  says,  "  When  I  was 
in  the  fields  I  would  for  hours  together  be  blaspheming  in 
the  most  horrid  manner."  He  professed  to  have  some  won- 
derful trances  and  visions ;  and  had  he  lived  to  the  present 
time  it  is  likely  he  would  have  kept  pace  with  modern  dis- 
coveries, and  been  a  spiritualist — he  was  a  very  unstable 
man.  In  1786  he  located ;  but  subsequently  wrote  to  the 
Conference  to  be  readmitted,  and  was  not  received,  on  the 
ground  of  insanity.  He  was  alive  in  1814,  at  which  time 
he  had  passed  his  threescore  years  on  earth.  After  he  ceased 
to  travel,  he  lived  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  Methodists  in 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

At  the  fall  quarterly  meeting  for  Brunswick  Circuit, 
Francis  Poythress,  James  Foster,  and  Joseph  Hartley,  were 
admitted  as  travelling  preachers.  A  further  account  of  them 
will  be  given  for  the  year  1776,  when  their  names  first  appear 
in  the  Minutes. 

During  this  year  the  Methodist  preachers,  finding  that  the 
collections  in  the  classes  were  not  sufficient  to  make  up  sixty- 
four  dollars  for  each  travelling  preacher  and  his  travelling 
expenses  (a  Methodist  preacher's  salary  at  that  day),  con- 
cluded to  make  a  fifth  or  conference  collection.  This  has 
been  a  rule  of  practice  ever  since. 

In  the  year  1775  the  Methodists  in  America  had  a  new 
cause  of  grief  and  sorrow  brought  home  to  their  hearts — for 
the  first  time  they  were  called  to  shed  their  tears  because 
death  had  striken  down  those  men  of  God  who  had  directed 
them  where  to  go  to  find  peace  and  joy  for  their  sad  and 
troubled  souls ;  the  unobtrusive  Embury  died  suddenly,  but 


1775.]  IN    AMERICA.  153 

happily,  among  the  little  circle  of  Methodists  that  he  had 
gathered  around  him  at  Ashgrove,  in  the  colony  of  New 
York ;  and  the  lamented  Robert  Williams  died  in  Virginia, 
where  his  name  was  long  remembered  by  a  multitude  who 
had  been  benefited  under  his  plain  and  powerful  ministry. 
Mr.  Williams  had  become  a  married  man.  He  was  the  first 
travelling  preacher  in  America  that  took  a  wife  :  he  married, 
it  appears,  a  Virginian ;  and  lived  between  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk — his  house  was  a  preaching  place  on  the  Norfolk 
Circuit.  On  the  26th  of  September,  1775,  the  Lord  took 
him  to  himself.  Mr.  Asbury,  who  was  then  laboring  on  the 
Norfolk  Circuit,  preached  his  funeral  sermon,  and  remarks, 
"  He  has  been  a  very  useful,  laborious  man,  and  the  Lord 
gave  him  many  seals  to  his  ministry.  Perhaps  no  one  in 
America  has  been  an  instrument  of  aAvakening  so  many  souls 
as  God  has  awakened  by  him."  If  usefulness  should  secure 
renown,  and  we  know  not  why  it  should  not,  then  Mr.  Wil- 
liams must  be  regarded  as  pre-eminent  among  the  early 
laborers  in  this  country.  He  was  the  first  itinerant  Meth- 
odist preacher  that  died  in  America.  He  was  buried  in 
Norfolk  county,  Virginia.  "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine 
as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many 
to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 


In  the  month  of  April,  1775,  Mr.  Asbury  first  preached 
to  Mr.  Henry  Dorsey  Gough,  of  Maryland,  on  which  occa- 
sion he  was  convinced  by  the  truth.  A  gentleman  of  Bristol, 
England,  had  left  Mr.  Gough,  by  will,  an  estate  in  land, 
houses,  and  money,  valued  at  sixty  or  seventy  thousand 
pounds.  He  had  married  a  sister  of  General  Ridgley  (after- 
wards Governor  Ridgley).  His  mansion,  called  Perry  Hall, 
was  on  the  Bel  Air  Road,  twelve  miles  from  Baltimore,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  spacious  and  elegant  in  America  at  that 
time.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  wealth  and  worldly  grandeur 
he  was  unhappy.  It  has  been  stated  that  Mrs.  Gough  had 
been  brought  to  serious  reflection  by  hearing  the  Methodists 
preach,  and  had  been  forbidden  by  her  husband  to  hear 
them  any  more.  One  evening  he  and  his  companions  were 
drinking  and  trying  to  bless  themselves  with  the  pleasures 
of  sin,  when  one  of  them  said,  "  Come,  let  us  go  and  hear 


154  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1775. 

the  Methodist  preacher."  This  was  to  be  a  scene  of  new 
diversion  to  them.  They  went,  and  Mr.  Asbury  was  the 
preacher.  On  leaving  the  place  of  worship  one  of  the  com- 
pany said,  "  What  a  heap  of  nonsense  we  have  heard  to- 
night." But  Mr.  Gough,  who  had  been  convicted  under  the 
sermon,  replied,  "No,  what  we  have  heard  is  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus."  His  prejudice  against  the  Methodists  was 
now  removed,  and  he  could  say  to  his  companion,  "  My  dear, 
I  shall  never  hinder  you  again  from  hearing  the  Methodists." 
This  was  an  agreeable  declaration  to  her.  So  deep  was  his 
distress  on  account  of  sin,  that  he  was  near  destroying  him- 
self, but  God  mercifully  preserved  him.  It  is  related  of  him 
that  he  rode  over  to  one  of  his  plantations,  one  day  Vr-hile 
under  sore  distress  of  soul,  where  he  heard  the  voice  of 
prayer  and  thanksgiving,  to  which  he  listened,  and  found 
that  it  was  a  colored  man,  a  poor  slave  that  had  come  from 
a  near  plantation,  and  was  praying  with  his  slaves ;  and 
thanking  God  most  fervently  for  his  goodness  to  his  soul 
and  body.  The  prayer  took  a  deep  hold  on  Mr.  Gough's 
feelings,  and  he  exclaimed,  "  Alas !  0  Lord,  I  have  my 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  and  yet,  ungrateful  wretch 
that  I  am,  I  never  thanked  thee  as  this  poor  slave  does,  who 
has  scarcely  clothes  to  put  on  or  food  to  satisfy  his  hunger." 
In  the  height  of  his  distress,  one  day,  when  a  number  of 
friends  were  at  his  house,  he  left  his  company  and  retired 
to  his  closet  to  pour  out  his  full  soul  in  prayer.  While  on 
his  knees,  imploring  the  mercy  of  God,  he  received  the 
answer  from  his  Lord,  of  conscious  pardon  and  peace.  In  a 
transport  of  joy,  he  went  to  his  company  exclaiming,  "I 
have  found  the  Methodists'  blessing !  I  have  found  the 
Methodists'  God !" 

In  July,  1775,  Mr.  Rankin  tells  us  that  after  preaching 
at  the  chapel  at  the  Forks  of  Gunpowder  Falls  he  rode  to 
Perry  Hall.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gough  had,  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
lately  found  a  sense  of  the  divine  favor,  and  now  cheerfully 
opened  their  house  and  hearts  to  receive  the  ministers  and 
children  of  God.  "I  spent  a  most  agreeable  evening  with 
them.  A  numerous  family  of  servants  were  called  in  to 
exhortation  and  prayer ;  so  that  with  them  and  the  rest  of 
the  house  we  had  a  little  congregation.  The  Lord  was  in 
the  midst,  and  we  praised  him  with  joyful  lips.  The  simpli- 
city of  spirit  discovered  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gough  was  truly 
pleasing.  At  every  opportunity  he  was  declaring  what  the 
Lord  had  done  for  his  soul;  still  wondering  at  the  matchless 
love  of  Jesus,  who  had  plucked  him  as  a  brand  from  the 


1775.]  IN  AMERICA.  165 

burning.  He  and  his  wife  united  with  the  Methodists,  and 
continued  to  cleave  to  them  during  the  war  that  resulted  in 
the  independence  of  the  American  colonies,  at  the  risk  of 
the  confiscation  of  his  large  estate." 

Mr.  Gough  continued  for  a  number  of  years  happy  in  reli- 
gion and  zealous  in  the  cause  of  God.  He  built  a  chapel 
joining  Perry  Hall,  on  which  was  a  bell  that  rang  morn- 
ing and  evening,  calling  the  household,  white  and  colored, 
together  for  family  worship.  So  numerous  was  his  family 
that  when  assembled  they  made  up  a  medium  congregation 
to  hear  the  Scriptures  read,  and  engage  in  singing  and 
prayer.  At  that  day  the  Methodists  were  strictly  taught  to 
allow  their  servants  the  benefit  of  family  worship,  nor  would 
a  Methodist  preacher  like  to  lead  in  family  devotion  when 
the  greater  part  of  the  family  were  absent  in  the  quarter, 
and  at  their  work.  In  this  chapel  the  circuit  preachers 
preached  every  two  weeks  on  a  week  day,  and  the  local 
preachers  every  other  Sabbath  ;  also  strange  preachers,  when 
they  turned  in  to  tarry  for  a  night,  often  preached  in  it  to 
the  family. 

After  Mr.  Gough  had  faithfully  withstood  temptation  for 
a  number  of  years,  he  backslid  and  was  again  found  seeking 
happiness  in  the  pleasures  of  sin.  His  wife  held  on  her  way 
undeviatingly.  When  he  was  expelled  from  the  Methodist 
Church,  he  vowed  that  he  would  never  join  it  again.  But 
in  the  great  revival  of  1800  and  1801,  he  was  reclaimed 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  Asbury,  through  whom 
he  was  first  brought  to  God ;  and  feeling  convinced  that  he 
did  wrong  in  making  a  vow  not  to  join  the  Methodists  again, 
he  felt  it  was  wrong  to  keep  it,  and  offered  himself  again  for 
fellowship  among  them  in  the  Light  Street  Church,  if  his 
bretliren  would  forgive  his  wanderings.  The  Rev.  George 
Roberts  was  the  officiating  minister,  who  put  it  to  vote,  when 
the  wliole  assembly  rose  on  their  feet,  and  all  eyes  were  suf- 
fused with  tears.  From  this  time  Mr.  Gough  continued  faith- 
ful unto  his  end.  One  of  his  last  pious  deeds  was  to  build  a 
chapel  called  the  "  Camp-Meeting  Chapel,"  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  poor  people  of  a  certain  neighborhood.  He 
spent  his  winters  in  Baltimore,  and  his  summers  at  Perry 
Hall.  In  May,  1808,  when  the  General  Conference  was  met 
in  Baltimore,  he  died ;  and  when  his  corpse  was  taken  to  the 
country  for  interment,  many  of  the  members  of  the  Confer- 
ence walked  in  procession  after  it  to  the  end  of  the  town. 
He  was  a  man  of  plain  understanding — large  charities  dwelt 
in  his  soul — he  was  ever  ready  to  minister  to  the  souls  and 


156  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1775. 

bodies  of  the  needy  as  a  follower  of  the  Saviour.  The 
expensive  embellishment  of  his  country-seat  was  always  hos- 
pitably open  to  visitors,  especially  those  who  feared  God. 
He  was  well  worthy  of  imitation  as  a  husband,  a  father, 
and  a  master. 

Mrs.  Prudence  Gough  lived  a  widow  for  several  years  after 
Mr.  Gough's  death.  After  he  was  reclaimed  he  used  to  say, 
"  Oh !  if  my  wife  had  ever  given  way  to  the  world  I  should 
have  been  lost ;  but  her  uniformly  good  life  inspired  me  with 
the  hope  that  I  should  one  day  be  restored  to  the  favor  of 
God."  Perry  Hall  was  the  resort  of  much  company,  among 
whom  the  skeptic  and  the  Romanist  were  sometimes  found. 
Members  of  the  Baltimore  bar,  the  elite  of  Maryland,  were 
there.  But  it  mattered  not  who  was  there.  When  the  bell 
rang  for  family  devotion,  they  were  seen  in  the  chapel,  and 
if  there  was  no  male  person  present  to  lead  the  devotions, 
Mrs.  Gough  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible,  gave  out  a  hymn 
which  was  often  raised  and  sung  by  the  colored  servants, 
when  she  would  engage  in  prayer.  Take  her  altogether,  few 
such  have  been  found  on  earth.  Of  her  Mr.  Asbury  re- 
marked, "  She  had  been  a  true  daughter,  she  has  never 
offeniled  me  at  any  time."  Her  only  sister  became  a  Method- 
ist about  the  same  time  that  she  did ;  they  continued  faith- 
fully to  a  good  old  age,  when  they  were  called  to  take  a 
higher  seat.  Mrs.  Gough's  only  child,  a  daughter,  also  gave 
her  heart  to  the  Saviour,  while  she  was  yet  young ;  and 
most  of  her  relations  followed  her  example  of  piety — many 
of  them  were  Methodists  cast  in  the  old  die. 

Many  of  the  principal  facts  in  the  foregoing  account  of 
Mr.  Gough  are  taken  from  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  William 
Black  of  Nova  Scotia,  who  was  at  Mr.  Gough's  about  the 
time  the  M.  E.  Church  was  organized ;  and  it  seems  he 
learned  them  of  Mr.  Gough.  Mrs.  Gough  was  awakened 
under  the  first  sermon  she  heard  Mr.  Asbury  preach.  She 
came  into  the  congregation  as  gay  as  a  butterfly,  and  left 
with  the  great  deep  of  her  heart  broken  up.  Mr.  Asbury 
took  notice  when  the  word  took  effect  upon  her.  Mr.  Gough 
was  very  zealous  when  he  first  found  favor  with  God,  and 
frequently  preached.  For  this  he  was  brought  before  the 
court,  but  was  never  cast  into  prison. 

Their  only  child,  Miss  Sophia,  was  raised  after  the  most 
religious  order ;  it  was  a  rule  of  Mrs.  Gough  not  to  allow 
her  daughter  to  go  into  any  company  where  she  could  not 
go  with  her,  nor  to  join  in  any  amusements  that  the  pious 
mother  could  not,  with  a  good  conscience,  join  in.     Though 


1775.]  IxV   AMERICA.  157 

their  child  was  raised  in  the  midst  of  wealth,  she  was  igno- 
rant of  the  fashionable  amusements  of  the  day.  The  first 
time  Mrs.  Gough  left  her  in  gay  company,  she  excused  her- 
self from  joining  in  playing  cards  for  amusement  by  saying 
she  did  not  know  how  to  play,  for  she  then  saw  a  pack  of 
cards  for  the  first  time.  When  one  of  the  company  said,  "  if 
you  cannot  play  you  can  cut  the  cards  for  us,"  she  replied 
in  her  happy  ignorance,  "  That  I  can  do  if  I  had  a  pair  of 
scissors."  This  was  the  right  way  to  cut  them.  What  was 
very  remarkable,  this  well  raised  young  lady  was  converted 
at  her  piano  while  singing,  "  Come,  thou  Fount  of  every 
blessing."  She  bore  the  joyful  news  to  her  parents — the 
mother  wept  for  joy — and  the  fiither  shouted  aloud.  This 
young  lady  was  married  to  James  Carroll,  Esq.,  a  gentleman 
of  many  excellencies,  as  well  as  of  much  wealth.  Methodism 
still  remains  in  this  distinguished  family.  The  Rev.  Thos. 
B.  Sargent  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  is  married  to  the 
great-granddaughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gough.  She,  and 
her  mother  and  aunt,  as  well  as  her  grandmother,  and  great- 
grandmother,  are  ranked  among  true-hearted  Methodists. 
See  "  Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant,"  pp.  191,  192,  193, 
201. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


In  June,  1775,  soon  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gough  became 
happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  experimental  religion,  Mr.  Free- 
born Garrettson,  who  lived  not  far  from  them,  was  also 
added  to  the  Methodists.  His  grandfather  came  from 
England,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Maryland,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Susquehanna  river.  His  father  was  a  man 
esteemed  as  a  good  Christian  in  his  day,  and  his  mother  was 
enlightened  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Whitefield's  coadjutors, 
and  was  somewhat  tender  in  her  feelings  in  reference  to 
religion.  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  born  not  far  from  llavre- 
de-Grace,  August  15,  1752.  There  were  several  things  in 
his  experience  before  he  obtained  a  clear  sense  of  Divine 
favor  that  were  very  remarkable ;  and  we  cannot  doubt  that 
that  Being  who  selected  Jeremiah  from  his  natal  hour  to  be 
a  prophet,  and  St.  Paul  to  preach  the  Gospel,  did  also  design 
Mr.  Garrettson  from  his  birth  to  do  the  work  that  he  did  as 
a  Methodist  preacher.  When  he  was  about  nine  years  old, 
14 


158  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1775. 

he  tells  us  it  was  strongly  impressed  on  his  mind  as  if  he  had 
heard  a  voice,  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you."  It  occurred 
to  his  mind  that  this  was  a  Scriptural  promise,  and  he  told 
his  brother  John  that  it  was  revealed  to  him  that  he  would 
be  very  rich ;  and  he  was  rich  in  every  sense — in  faith  and 
good  works,  and  had  abundance  of  this  world's  goods.  Not 
long  after,  some  spiritual  influence,  it  seems,  raised  the 
question  in  his  mind,  "Do  you  know  what  a  saint  is?"  It 
was  suggested  to  him  immediately,  "A  saint  is  one  that  is 
wholly  given  up  to  God;"  and  the  beautiful  image  of  a  saint 
was  before  his  soul  at  once,  which  so  enraptured  him  as  to 
move  him  to  pray  that  the  Lord  would  make  him  a  saint ;  at 
the  same  time  joy  sprang  up  in  his  soul  from  a  persuasion 
that  his  prayer  would  be  answered.  We  are  disposed  to 
regard  these  as  his  first  catechetical  instructions  from  heaven. 

Conviction  of  the  danger  to  which  a  soul  is  exposed 
without  saving  grace,  was  kept  alive  in  Mr.  Garrettson  by 
the  dangers  and  deliverances  through  which  he  passed.  At 
one  time  he  was  near  being  drowned  by  falling  into  a  rapid 
stream,  which  led  him  to  inquire  what  would  have  become 
of  his  soul,  and  set  him  to  weeping  and  praying.  At 
another  time  when  riding  down  a  declivity,  he  was  thrown 
from  his  horse  on  a  rock,  and  remained  senseless  for  awhile. 
When  he  came  to,  on  his  knees,  with  hands  and  eyes  raised 
to  heaven,  he  cried  to  God  for  his  mercy,  and  promised  to 
serve  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life.  Before  he  left  that 
spot  he  saw  the  loveliness  of  the  Saviour,  and  felt  a  degree 
of  the  goodness  of  God.  His  strictness  of  life,  together 
with  his  going  to  hear  the  Methodists  preach,  caused  his 
father  to  visit  him  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  him  to  keep 
to  the  Church  of  England,  in  which  he  had  been  raised. 

In  1773,  his  brother  John  was  expected  to  die,  and  on 
a  Sabbath  day  many  of  his  relations  came  to  see  the  last  of 
him.  He  saw  death  approaching  to  summon  him  to  eternity, 
and  hell  was  to  be  his  doom.  At  this  time  he  was  praying, 
"  Lord,  thou  knowest  I  am  unprepared  to  die — have  mercy 
on  me — give  me  a  longer  space — raise  me  up  and  I  will 
serve  Thee."  At  this  time  his  brother  Freeborn  was  on  his 
knees,  back  of  the  bed,  praying  earnestly  for  him.  They 
both  felt  and  knew  the  moment  when  the  Lord  answered 
prayer,  and  respited  him  from  death.  Immediately,  Free- 
born told  the  company  the  Lord  would  raise  him  up. 
He  recovered,  obtained  religion,  and  died  triumphantly  in 
1778.  Although  Mr.  Garrettson  did  not  at  this  time  profess 
the  faith  of  assurance,  yet,  he  had  power  to  prevail  with 


1775.]  IN   AMERICA.  159 

God  in  prayer,  and  boldness  to  hypothecate  the  answer  to 
his  pra^'er.  In  the  course  of  this  year  his  father  died, 
leaving  his  children  a  hope  that  he  had  gone  to  a  better 
world. 

In  June,  1775,  he  awoke  one  morning  with  an  awful  voice 
sounding  in  his  ears,  as  impressive  as  if  it  had  been  thunder, 
''Awake,  sinner,  for  you  are  not  prepared  to  die."  He 
started  from  his  pillow  and  called  on  the  Lord  for  mercy. 
Instead  of  attending  to  the  military  parade  that  day  as  he 
had  intended,  he  spent  the  morning  in  devotion  to  prayer, 
and  heard  a  Methodist  sermon  in  the  afternoon.  Oppressed 
with  sorrow,  he  spent  the  night.  Soon  after,  he  heard 
Mr.  Daniel  Ruflf  preach,  and  spent  the  evening  at  Mrs. 
Goiigh's.  On  his  way  home,  in  a  lonely  wood,  and  under 
the  pall  of  night,  he  bowed  his  knees  in  supplication  to  God. 
He  was  now  near  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  for  a  while 
felt  the  countervailing  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
Satan:  the  former  presenting  the  beauties  of  religion, 
while  the  latter  endeavored  to  make  it  look  as  odious  as 
possible,  and  offered  him  the  world  for  his  portion.  After 
continuing  on  his  knees  for  some  time,  he  gave  way  to  the 
reasonings  of  his  enemy — his  tender  feelings  were  gone,  and 
his  tears  ceased  to  flow.  He  continued  on  his  knees  and 
ai<ked  the  Lord  to  give  him  one  year  to  arrange  his  affairs, 
and  then  he  would  serve  him.  The  answer  to  this  was, 
"  Now  is  the  accepted  time."  He  then  asked  for  six  months 
and  was  denied — one  month,  no — one  week,  the  answer  was, 
"  This  is  the  time."  The  enemy  suggested,  The  God  whom 
you  propose  to  serve  is  a  hard  master.  His  heart  rose 
against  his  Maker,  and  rising  from  his  knees  he  said,  "  I  will 
take  my  own  time,  and  then  I  will  serve  Thee."  He 
mounted  his  horse  with  a  heart  hardened  with  unbelief;  but, 
before  he  had  proceeded  far,  the  Lord  met  him  with  these 
words,  "  I  have  come  once  more  to  oifer  you  life  and  salva- 
tion, and  it  is  the  last  time,  choose  or  refuse."  Heaven  and 
hell  were  presented  to  his  view — the  power  of  God  was  upon 
him — he  was  afraid  to  contend  with  his  Maker  any  longer — 
he  gave  up  the  last  enemies,  that  lurked  within  his  heart, 
pride  and  unbelief;  and  throwing  the  reins  on  his  horse's 
neck,  he  put  his  hands  together  and  cried  out,  "  Lord,  I 
submit" — the  enmity  of  his  heart  was  slain — he  was  recon- 
ciled to  God,  and  felt  the  power  of  faith  and  love  as  he 
never  had  before.  So  great  was  his  joy  that  he  felt  like 
taking  wings  and  flying  to  heaven.  As  he  rode  in  an 
unfrequented  woods,    he   sounded   aloud   the   praise   of  his 


IGO  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1775. 

Redeemer,  feeling  that  he  would  not  be  ashamed  to  publish 
it  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  stars  of  night  seemed  to 
unite  with  him  in  praising  their  Maker.  The  servants  heard 
him  returnino-  with  "  sono;s  in  the  nio-ht,"  and  in  surprise 
met  him  at  the  gate.  After  family  worship,  in  which  he  felt 
more  like  giving  thanks  than  petitioning,  he  lay  down  about 
midnight,  but  was  too  happy  to  sleep  for  some  time. 

In  the  morning  when  he  awoke  the  enemy  suggested  to 
him,  "Where  is  your  religion  now?  It  was  only  a  dream. 
It  is  all  delusion."  By  resorting  to  prayer  the  tempter  fled, 
and  his  happiness  returned.  He  was  impressed  to  go  to  a 
certain  house  and  declare  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  him. 
He  went  to  the  place,  but  did  not  bear  his  testimony  for 
Jesus,  and  thereby  grieved  the  Spirit,  and  brought  gloom 
over  his  soul.  In  this  oppressed  state  he  continued  several 
days.  The  tempter  cast  atheism  at  him,  asking,  "  Where  is 
your  God  now  ?  You  have  been  deluded — deny  this  religion 
— the  Methodists  are  enthusiasts — pray  no  more."  Prostrate 
on  the  ground,  his  cry  was,  "  If  I  perish,  it  shall  be  at  thy 
feet  crying  for  mercy ;"  hope,  that  he  would  be  saved  at  last, 
sprung  up  in  his  soul.  His  next  conclusion  was  to  exclude 
himself  from  the  society  of  men  and  live  on  bread  and  water, 
mourning  all  his  days  for  having  grieved  his  Lord.  On  Sab- 
bath morning  he  proposed  not  to  go  to  any  place  of  worship, 
but  to  remain  alone.  He  called  the  family  together  for 
prayer,  and  as  he  was  giving  out  a  hymn,  a  thought,  that 
was  new  to  him,  came  into  his  mind — "It  is  not  right  for 
you  to  keep  your  fellow-creatures  in  bondage ;  you  must  let 
the  oppressed  go  free."  He  knew  this  was  from  the  same 
voice  that  had  spoken  to  him  of  the  right  way  before.  He 
had  heard  or  read  nothing  on  this  subject  before.  He  paused 
in  the  worship,  and  replied — "  Lord,  the  oppressed  shall  go 
free,"  and  told  the  slaves  they  did  not  belong  to  him ; 
he  now  proceeded  in  the  worship,  and  all  gloom  and  dejection 
fled  away,  and  heavenly  sweetness  ran  through  his  soul.  He 
no  longer  wished  for  the  cell,  but  his  desire  was  to  publish 
his  Saviour  to  the  world.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  he 
heard  a  Methodist  preach,  and  something  told  him,  "  These 
are  the  people." 

It  was  impressed  on  his  mind  to  visit  certain  families  to 
press  religion  upon  them.  The  man  at  the  head  of  the  first 
family  he  visited  was  enraged  against  him ;  nevertheless  a 
salutary  impression  was  made  on  the  souls  of  one  or  two  of 
his  children.  The  next  family  that  he  visited,  the  head  of 
it  was  brought  to  cry  for  mercy  on  his  knees.     He  went 


1775.]  IX   AMERICA.  161 

nearly  twenty  miles  to  visit  a  third  family.  When  he  arrived 
he  de.sired  the  master  of  the  house  to  send  out  and  call  in  his 
neighbors,  which  he  did;  and  here  Mr.  Garrettson  gave  his 
first  exhortation,  and  three  sinners  at  least  were  awakened. 

He  now  began  to  hold  meetings  in  his  own  house  for 
prayer  and  exhortation ;  and  also  at  the  house  of  his  brother 
John,  where  a  good  work  began,  and  some  thirty  of  awakened 
ai]d  converted  souls  were  formed  into  a  society  by  him  before 
he  had  formally  united  -with  them  himself;  these  he  gave 
into  the  care  of  Mr.  Rodda,  who  had  charge  of  Baltimore 
Circuit.  Mr.  Rodda  now  took  him  to  travel  with  him  on  the 
circuit ;  Mr.  R.  would  preach,  and  Mr.  Garrettson  "would 
exhort  after  him.  After  nine  days,  Mr.  G.  told  Mr.  Rodda 
that  he  was  not  disposed  to  be  a  travelling  preacher,  and 
returned  home. 

To  get  clear  of  these  itinerating  liabilities,  he  resolved  to 
marry  and  settle  himself.  Just  at  this  time  he  received  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Rodda  to  come  to  Baltimore.  He  complied  with 
the  request,  and  Mr.  R.  sent  him  on  the  circuit,  promising 
to  meet  him  at  a  certain  appointment.  Mr.  Garrettson  filled 
up  his  engagements  and  had  good  meetings  ;  but  to  avoid 
meeting  Mr.  Rodda,  and  also  to  avoid  itinerating,  he  took  a 
short  route  for  home.  Calling  at  the  house  of  a  good  old 
Methodist  for  refreshment,  he  looked  him  in  the  face  and  said, 
"Are  you  the  young  man  that  was  with  Mr.  Rodda?"  He 
replied  "Yes."  "Where  are  you  going?"  Mr.  G.  said 
"Home."  "What  are  you  going  home  for?"  said  the  old 
gentleman.  "Because  I  do  not  intend  to  be  a  travelling 
preacher."  The  old  Methodist  replied,  "From  all  that  I  can 
learn,  God  has  called  you  to  the  work,  and  if  you  refuse, 
He  will  pursue  you."  Here,  his  purpose,  "Not  to  be  a 
travelling  preacher,"  was  again  shaken;  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  seemed  to  stand  in  his  way. 

To  bring  him  into  the  itinerancy  the  Lord  condescended  to 
make  exhibitions  of  the  state  of  this  sinful  world  to  him  in 
nightly  visions.  He  tells  us  on  a  certain  night  he  saw  the 
whole  world  of  sinners  suspended  in  the  air  by  a  slender  thread 
over  the  pit  of  destruction,  while  they  were  pursuing  their 
sinful  pleasures  careless  of  their  danger.  In  his  sleep  he 
began  to  cry  aloud  to  convince  them  of  their  peril.  This 
awoke  his  brother,  who  found  him  sitting  up  in  bed,  trembling, 
and  wet  with  perspiration.  On  another  occasion,  after 
wrestling  in  prayer  he  fell  asleep  and  dreamed  that  the  devil 
came  into  his  room — that  a  good  angel  came  and  asked  him 
14^ 


162  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1775-6. 

if  he  would  go  and  preach  the  gospel.  To  which  he  replied, 
*'I  am  unworthy,  I  cannot  go."  Immediately  the  devil  laid 
hold  of  him,  from  whose  grasp  he  endeavored  to  get  free. 
He  saw  but  one  very  narrow  way  of  escape.  The  good  angel 
told  him  there  was  a  dispensation  of  the  gospel  committed 
to  him,  and  woe  unto  him  if  he  preached  not  the  gospel. 
He  struggled,  in  vain,  for  some  time  to  get  free  from  his 
enemy.  He  then  cried  out,  "Lord,  send  by  whom  thou  wilt, 
I  am  willing  to  go  and  preach  thy  gospel."  Soon  as  he 
consented  he  saw  the  devil  fly  through  the  end  of  the  house 
in  a  flame  of  fire.  He  awoke  out  of  sleep,  his  mystic  sky 
was  cloudless,  and  his  Saviour  engrossed  the  afl'ections  of  his 
heart. 

The  conflicts  through  which  Mr.  Garrettson  passed,  as  he 
was  led  into  the  kingdom  of  grace,  and  into  the  itinerating 
sphere,  occasioned  by  the  temptations  of  the  enemy,  is  a  very 
good  map  of  what  most  individuals  experience  as  they  pass 
over  the  same  spiritual  highway  into  the  favor  of  God ;  and 
into  that  field  of  sacrifice  and  usefulness,  known  as  the  Metho- 
dist itinerancy. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


From  Fogwell's  and  Dudley's,  in  Queen  Anne's  county, 
Md.,  the  pioneers  of  Methodism  moved  down  through  the 
eastern  section  of  the  county,  while  the  western  portion, 
lying  towards  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  not  visited  by  them 
until  a  few  years  afterwards.  From  Queen  Anne's  they 
entered  Caroline  county,  possibly  in  1774. 

In  1775  they  had  made  appointments  as  low  as  Choptank 
Bridge,  now  Greensborough.  In  the  early  part  of  1776,  Mr. 
Ruff  was  preaching  on  Kent  Circuit,  when,  at  his  request, 
Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson  came  over  in  March  of  this  year 
to  take  his  place  for  a  short  time.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
Mr.  Garrettson  went  into  Tuckeyhoe  Neck,  where  he  was 
the  first  Methodist  preacher  that  the  people  heard.  It  was 
here,  as  he  says,  "  That  he  was  wandering  along  in  search 
of  an  opening  for  the  word  in  deep  thought  and  prayer  that 
his  way  might  be  prosperous — when,  as  he  came  opposite  a 
gate,  he  had  a  sudden  impression  to  turn  in,  that  it  was  the 


1776.]  IN  AMERICA.  163 

place  where  he  was  to  begin."  He  obeyed  the  impression,* 
and  went  up  to  the  house  and  told  the  mistress  who  came 
out,  "  that  if  she  wished  to  hear  the  -vvord  of  the  Lord 
preached,  to  send  out  and  call  her  neighbors  together,  which 
she  did."  He  preached  there  that  evening  and  the  next  day. 
This  was  at  the  house  of  the  stepfather  of  the  late  Rev. 
Ezekiel  Cooper,  who  was  an  officer ;  and,  as  it  was  a  day  of 
general  mustering,  Mr.  Garrettson,  it  appears,  sat  on  his 
horse  and  preached  to  the  soldiers  and  many  others — many 

*  Is  it  not  clear  to  all  truly  enlightened  Christians,  that  the  impres- 
sion which  Mr.  Garrettson  followed  in  Tuckeyhoe  Neck,  was  of  God? 
Mr.  Garrettson,  in  another  place,  says,  "Individuals  thought  me  an 
enthusiast  because  I  talked  so  much  about  feeling,  and  having  impres- 
sions to  go  to  particular  places.  I  know  the  word  of  God  is  our  infallible 
guide,  and  by  it  we  are  to  try  all  our  dreams  and  feelings.  I  also  know 
that,  both  sleeping  and  waking,  things  of  a  Divine  nature  have  been 
revealed  to  me."  It  will  hardly  be  doubted  or  denied  by  Christians, 
that  God  selects  some  individuals  to  be  his  instruments  to  perform 
certain  works  at  certain  times — as  Luther  to  effect  the  Reformation  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  Wesley  in  the  eighteenth  century  ;  but  these 
instruments  could  not  find  in  the  Bible,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Martin 
Luther  shall  expose  Popery,  and  bring  about  a  great  reformation  ;  and 
John  Wesley  shall  be  a  restorer  of  declining  Christianity.^'  These 
men  were  convinced  of  their  call,  as  every  true  Gospel  minister  is,  by 
a  conviction  wrought  in  their  souls  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  So,  if  God 
designs  a  person  to  go  to  a  particular  country  or  neighborhood,  at  a 
particular  time,  where  he  will  be  more  useful  than  anywhere  else,  this 
cannot  be  learned  from  the  Bible  ;  but  must  be  made  known  by  reve- 
lation from  the  Omniscient  Being.  St.  Paul,  though  he  had  been  con- 
stituted an  Apostle  by  a  personal  interview  with  Christ,  did  not  know 
the  Lord's  time  for  him  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Macedonia  until  he 
had  a  "  vision."  From  this  he  was  "  assured  that  the  Lord  had  called 
him  to  preach  the  gospel  unto  them."  If  St.  Paul  needed  to  be  directed 
by  a  vision  where  to  go,  it  seems  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
administration  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  direct  others  by  similar 
means — the  means  used  by  the  Head  of  the  Church  are  impressions, 
that  are  their  own  witness  to  their  subjects  that  they  are  from  the 
Lord — dreams  and  visions.  We  can  see  nothing  unreasonable,  unplii- 
losophical,  or  unscriptural  in  believing  that  many  modern  ministers, 
who  have  Ijeeu  consecrated  wholly  to  the  Lord,  whose  hearts  have  said, 
"Lord,  Avhat  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  have  been  so  directed.  The 
results  that  followed  from  Mr.  Garrettson's  following  the  impression 
above,  shows  that  it  was  from  God.  He  found  a  family  ready  to  receive 
him  and  his  message — the  foundation  of  a  Methodist  society  was  laid, 
out  of  which  several  preachers  came,  who,  in  their  day,  did  good  service 
for  the  Redeemer.  The  evidence  that  his  dream,  which  directed  him 
to  the  people  in  Sussex  and  Somerset  counties,  was  of  God,  is  equally 
confirmed  hy  the  societies  and  preachers  that  were  raised  up  at  Broad 
Creek,  the  Sound,  Salisbury,  and  Quantico.  The  charge  of  enthusiasm 
will  not  lie  against  him  for  believing  in  impressions,  visions,  and 
dreams ;  and  for  the  same  reason  Mr.  Abbott,  and  all  such  ministers, 
must  be  acquitted  of  the  charge. 


164  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1776. 

tears  were  shed,  and  some  that  received  conviction  that  day 
became  Methodists  and  preachers  of  the  gospeL  Mr.  E. 
Cooper  was  one ;  and  it  seems  that  Mr.  John  Cooper  was 
another. 

Methodism  was  not  established  in  Tuckeyhoe  Neck  with- 
out opposition.  The  father  of  Mr.  John  Cooper,  who  was 
possessed  of  a  considerable  landed  estate,  endeavored  to  buy 
off  his  son  by  telling  him  that  "  he  would  make  a  gentleman 
of  him  by  bestowing  his  lands  upon  him  if  he  would  refrain 
from  the  Methodists ;  but  if  he  united  with  them  he  might 
expect  to  be  disinherited."  The  son  met  these  propositions 
by  saying,  "I  intend  to  be  a  Methodist  and  a  gentleman, 
too."  Mr.  John  Cooper  made  one  of  the  society  which  was 
formed  in  1776  or  1777,  in  this  Neck.  He  married  a  Miss 
Conner,  who  was  brought  to  the  Lord  under  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  Pedicord — she,  too,  became  a  Methodist  against  the  wish 
of  her  family,  who,  to  keep  her  from  going  to  Methodist  meet- 
ing, locked  up  her  best  apparel.  She,  nevertheless,  went  to 
meeting  in  her  ordinary  clothes,  which  so  mortified  them  that 
they  unlocked  her  wardrobe  and  yielded  to  her  in  this  matter. 
Mr.  John  Cooper  was  an  early  local  preacher,  and  assisted 
in  spreading  Methodism  through  Caroline  county ;  and  his 
son,  Rev.  William  Cooper,  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia 
Conference.  Michael  Smith  was  the  first  class-leader  in 
Tuckeyhoe. 

It  was  in  this  region,  and  not  long  after,  that  the  Rev. 
Thomas  S.  Chew  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Henry  Downs, 
who  was  a  chief  man  in  this  county,  filling  the  office  of 
sheriff,  if  not  magistrate  too.  Mr.  Downs  asked  Mr.  Chew 
if  he  were  "a  minister  of  the  gospel?"  Mr.  Chew  replied, 
''Yes."  Mr.  Downs  then  requested  him  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  which  Mr.  Chew  declined  on  account  of  scruples 
of  conscience.  Mr.  Downs  told  him  that  he  was  bound  by 
oath  of  office  to  execute  the  law  upon  him  and  send  him  to 
prison.  Mr.  Chew  replied  calmly  that  he  did  not  wish  him 
to  perjure  himself,  that  he  was  ready  to  suffer  the  penalty 
of  the  law.  Mr.  Downs,  looking  at  him,  replied,  "  You  are  a 
strange  man,  and  I  cannot  bear  to  punish  you,  I  will,  there- 
fore, make  my  house  your  prison."  He,  accordingly^,  com- 
mitted him  to  prison  in  his  own  house  under  his  hand  and 
seal,  where  he  kindly  entertained  him  for  about  three  months, 
in  which  time  he  was  fully  awakened  under  the  prayers  and 
exhortations  of  Mr.  Chew,  and  his  lady  was  truly  converted 
to  God.  Mr.  Downs  and  his  wife  became  Methodists ;  and, 
assisted  by  others,  built  the  first  Methodist  chapel   in  the 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  165 

county  called  "  Tuckeylioe  Cliapel" — this  house  was  erected 
between  1780  and  1784.  It  was  a  rallying  centre  for  the 
Methodists  of  this  county  in  the  last  century ;  and  Tuckey- 
hoe  Neck  furnished  its  quota  of  preachers  for  the  itinerancy 
in  the  Reverends  Ezekiel  Cooper,  Solomon  Sharp,  Stephen 
Martindale,  and  Thomas  Neall. 

When  Dr.  Coke  first  preached  in  Tuckeyhoe  Chapel  in 
December  1784,  he  says,  "  The  people  here  are  the  best 
singers  I  have  heard  in  America." 

Sir.  John  Cooper,  who  was  one  of  the  early  and  leading 
Methodists  in  Tuckeyhoe  Neck,  used  to  relate,  with  others, 
a  strange  phenomenon,  which  was  often  seen  in  the  evening 
meetings,  during  a  great  revival,  which  was  going  on  in 
Tuckeyhoe  Neck,  when  Methodism  was  in  its  infancy  in  that 
neighborhood.  An  unaccountable  light,  resembling  flame, 
was  often  seen  hovering  over  the  heads  of  the  Methodists, 
when  engaged  in  prayer  and  class  meetings.  It  was  seen 
several  times,  by  many  people,  brooding  over  different  per- 
sons. This  phenomenon  produced  not  only  awe  in  the  minds 
of  the  beholders,  but  it  was  a  witness  to  the  divinity  of  the 
work,  and  led  the  unconverted  to  venerate  the  Methodists. 

The  Rev.  William  Cooper,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
son  of  the  above-named  John  Cooper,  who  communicated  the 
account  to  us,  says,  "  I  often  sat  and  trembled  when  my 
father,  mother,  and  others  were  conversing  about  this,  with 
other  strange  appearances  of  those  times." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  (1775)  the  Methodists  were  de- 
creasing in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania.  In 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  there  was  a  large 
increase.  The  return  of  members  to  the  following  Conference 
was  4921,  and  no  return  was  made  for  Kent  Circuit,  which  re- 
turned the  previous  year  353 — this  added  to  the  above  num- 
ber would  make  5174.  The  increase  was  more  than  2000. 
At  this  time  there  were  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line 
523.  South  of  it  4651 — nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  Method- 
ists at  this  time  were  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North 
Carolina. 


166  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 


CHAPTER  XX VI. 

In  May,  1776,  the  fourth  Conference  was  held  In  Balti- 
more. This  is  the  first  time  that  Conference  was  held  in 
this  town.  The  two  circuits  in  Jersey  were  put  into  one. 
Chester  was  merged  into  the  Philadelphia  Circuit.  Norfolk  w;is 
burnt  down,  and  the  name  of  the  circuit  disappears.  Four 
new  circuits  appear  on  the  Minutes — Fairfax,  Hanover,  and 
Pittsylvania,  in  Virginia,  and  Carolina,  in  North  Carolina. 
Fairfax  was  taken  from  Frederick  Circuit,  and  Hanover, 
Pittsylvania,  and  Carolina,  were  taken  from  Brunswick  Cir- 
cuit. There  were  eleven  circuits,  and  twenty-five  travelling 
preachers,  including  Mr.  Rankin. 

In  the  days  of  St.  Paul,  "  not  many  mighty,  not  many 
noble,"  were  brought  into  the  fellowship  of  Christians  by 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel ;  very  few  of  this  description 
have  been  found  among  the  Methodists  ;  nevertheless,  there 
was  now  and  then  one  who  was  reached  by  the  Metho<list 
ministry  in  the  beginning.  About  this  time,  "  Mr.  Fairfax 
(a  relation  of  old  Lord  Fairfax),*  a  gentleman  of  large  estate 

*  Hatred  of  tyranny  and  love  of  liberty  have  been  the  two  ruling 
passions  in  the  human  heart,  which  have  secured  all  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  freedom  now  existing  in  Christendom.  These  two  pas- 
sions have  been  operating  from  the  dawn  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  in 
no  country  in  Europe  have  they  worked  out  such  results  as  in  England, 
the  nation  from  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  chiefly  sprang. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  when  this  country  was  colonized,  these 
passions  were  vigorously  operating  in  England;  they  brought  Charles  I. 
to  the  scaffold,  and  placed  Oliver  Cromwell,  no  less  a  tyrant,  in  his 
way,  in  power.  New  terms  were  used  to  represent  the  views  of  the 
struggling  parties  ;  those  who  advocated  monarchy  in  church  and  state, 
were  called  Tories,  from  toree,  an  Irish  word,  signifying  a  savage 
robber.  Those  opposed  to  monarchy  in  church  and  state,  were  called 
Whigs,  from  whig-a-more,  a  phrase  used  by  the  Scotch,  who  were 
generally  of  the  latter  party,  in  driving  strings  of  horses.  When  Anne, 
the  daughter  of  James,  Duke  of  York  (after  whom  New  York  was 
called),  and  brother  to  Charles  II.,  and  granddaughter  of  Charles  I., 
came  to  the  throne,  she  began  her  reign  with  Whig  friends  and 
counsellors  ;  one  of  them  was  the  serene,  indefatigable,  but  avaricious 
Duke  of  Marlborough.  After  a  while,  Anne  began  to  favor  Tory 
views,  of  "  divine  right  and  passive  obedience."  Her  old  playmate, 
Sarah  Jennings,  now  Duchess  of  Marlborough,  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  high-bosomed  ladies  of  the  age,  always  a  Whig,  began  to  fall  from 
Anne's  esteem,  and  Mrs.  Marsham,  her  kinswoman,  who  had  been 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  queen  by  the  duchess,  took  her  place  at 
court.  She  was  but  the  tool  of  Ilarley,  secretary  of  state,  Avhose 
coadjutor  was  Henry  St.  John,  afterwards  Lord  Bolingbroke.     They 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  167 

in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  was  savingly  brought  to  the 
knoAvledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  at  the  Con- 
ference hehl  in  Baltimore,  in  1776,  and  in  the  love-feast,  he 
spoke  of  what  God  had  done  for  his  soul,  with  such  simplicity 
and  unction  from  on  high,  as  greatly  affected  every  one  that 
heard  him." 

Mr.  Francis  Hollingsworth  was  the  first  gentleman  of  much 
wealth,  that  consorted  with  the  Methodists.  Next,  Mr.  Gough, 
who,  it  seems,  was  worth  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars. 
Now,  Mr.  Fairfax.  In  1780,  Mr.  Richard  Bassett,  who,  in 
his  day,  was  wealthy  and  influential.  About  the  year  1787, 
Mr.  James  Rembert,  of  South  Carolina,  a  man  of  much 
wealth,  became  a  Methodist.  In  1700,  General  Hardy 
Bryan,  of  North  Carolina,  and  General  Russell,  of  Virginia. 
About  the  same  time,  Lieutenant  Governor  Van  Courtlandt, 
of  New  York,  and  General  Lippett,  of  Rhode  Island.  These 
individuals,  as  nearly  as  we  can  ascertain,  Avere  the  most  dis- 
tinguished by  their  wealth  and  position  in  society,  of  any  that 
became  Methodists  in  the  last  century,  when  Methodism 
was  planted  in  their  respective  neighborhoods.  But,  let  it 
be  remembered,  that  no  one  was  retained  in  society  at  that 
day,  merely  on  account  of  his  money.  These  wealthy 
families  conformed  to  Methodist  rule  and  discipline  as  strictly 
as  the  poor  slaves,  with  whom  they  mingled  in  worship. 

Kent  Circuit  had  three  preachers — Nicholas  Watters, 
William  Wren,  and  Joseph  Hartley — sent  to  it. 

Mr.  Nicholas  Watters  was  an  elder  brother  of  William 
Watters,  born  in.  Maryland,  in  17o9.  He  began  to  exhort 
in  1772.  and  in  1776  was  received  as  a  travelling  preacher, 
and  sent  to  Kent  Circuit.  In  1779  he  located,  and  remained 
in  that  relation  to  Methodism  for  many  years.  He  came  in 
the  travelling  connection  aorain,  and  ended  his  life  and  his 
labors  in  the  work,  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1804,  in  his 
sixty-fifth    year.       He    was    a    Christian    of    great    moral 

sncceeiled  in  prostrating  the  Wiiigs,  and  placing  the  Tories  in  power. 
Several  of  the  leading  Whigs  came  to  this  country,  bringing  with  them 
their  hatred  of  monarchy.  Of  these,  we  name  the  Claypole  and  Hali- 
fax families.  Oliver  Cromwell's  favorite  daughter  was  married  to  a 
Claypnle;  and  the  Claypoles  among  the  early  settlers  of  Philadelphia, 
were  descended  from  Oliver  Cromwell. 

Fairfax  was  opposed  to  the  Stewarts  ;  Lord  Fairfax  commanded  an 
army  in  the  civil  war  which  prostrated  the  power  of  Charles  I.  They 
were  identified  with  the  Whigs  and  Presbyterians.  This  historical 
sketch  may  furnish  the  reason  why  a  descendant  of  Lord  Fairfax  set- 
tled in  Virginia,  and  took  up  a  vast  tract  of  country — one  county  bear- 
ing his  name  to  the  present  time. 


168  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

courage,  and  nothing  delighted  him  more  than  conversing 
on  the  things  of  God.  His  heavenly-mindedness,  and  uni- 
form simphcity  of  deportment,  greatly  endeared  him  to  his 
brethren.  Nearly  his  last  words  were,  "I  am  not  afraid  to 
die: 

"  Farewell,  vain  world,  I'm  going  home. 
My  Jesus  smiles  and  bids  me  come,'' 

Mr.  William  Wren  appears  to  have  been  used  to  supply  a 
place  occasionally.  It  is  possible  that  he  was  from  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland.  Mr.  Hartley  will  be  noticed 
more  fully  hereafter. 

Mr.  Asbury  did  not  attend  the  Conference  held  in  Balti- 
more ;  he  was  in  Pennsylvania,  in  an  afflicted  condition. 
He  was  appointed  to  Baltimore  Circuit.  Mr.  James  Foster 
was  one  of  his  colleagues;  and,  coming  from  Virginia,  where 
the  work  of  God  was  gloriously  prospering,  he  brought  the 
spirit  of  the  work  with  him  to  Maryland. 

Mr.  James  Foster  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  among 
the  first  that  came  into  the  itinerancy  from  that  part  of  the 
work.  He  was  an  excellent  man,  a  zealous  and  useful 
preacher.  The  toils  and  privations  of  the  itinerancy  soon 
broke  down  the  energies  of  his  slender  constitution,  and  he 
married,  and  settled  in  life.  Losing  his  wife,  he  moved  into 
South  Carolina.  Here  he  found  several  Methodist  families 
that  had  moved  from  Virginia,  and  he  commenced  holding 
meetings  and  preaching,  and  formed  a  circuit  that  was 
called  Broad  Biver.  It  appears  that  he  re-entered  the 
travelling  connection,  and  finally  desisted  in  1787. 

"  Mr.  Foster  possessed  good  preaching  abilities,  was  re- 
markably amiable  in  his  disposition,  and  interesting  in  his 
personal  appearance,  and  labored  with  great  acceptance  and 
usefulness.  He  was,  however,  so  abstemious  in  his  habits 
of  life,  that  that,  together  with  his  labors  in  the  ministry, 
proved  too  much  for  his  physical  strength,  so  that  his  mind 
sank  with  his  body.  Under  mental  derangement,  he  wan- 
dered about  for  years,  till  he  was  relieved  by  death.  In  this 
state,  he  was  still  strict  in  his  habits,  and  inoffensive  in  his 
intercourse  with  the  families  he  visited.  He  continued  to 
take  part  in  family  worship,  when  called  on,  with  much 
devotion  and  propriety."     Memoirs  of  Gatch,  p.  84. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Asbury  was  so  poor  that,  for  several 
months,  it  interrupted  his  regular  work  in  travelling  and 
preaching. 

After  several  days'  coiifinement  at  Mr.  Gough's,  he  resolved 


1776.]  IN   AMERICA.  169 

to  try  the  Warm  Springs  at  Batli,  in  Berkley  county,  Va. 
While  at  the  Springs  the  circuit  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Webster, 
now  retired  from  the  itinerancy ;  and  Mr.  Lynch,  one  of 
Mr.  Asbury's  sons  in  the  gospel,  now  a  local  preacher,  and 
Mr.  Foster.  Messrs.  Gough  and  Merryman  were  with  him 
at  the  Springs.  That  they  might  be  useful  they  held  a 
meeting  for  prayer  and  exhortation  every  evening  at  one  or 
the  other's  lodgings ;  and  Mr.  Asbury  frequently  preached. 

But,  he  observes,  "The  zealous  conversation  and  prayers 
of  Mr.  Gough  seemed  to  move  and  melt  the  hearts  of  the 
people  more  than  my  preaching."  While  at  the  Springs  he 
met  with  a  man  that  had  never  before  seen  or  heard  a  Meth- 
odist, and  yet  he  was  a  Methodist  in  principle,  experience, 
and  practice,  having  been  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  God 
by  affliction,  reading,  and  prayer.  On  one  occasion  he  rode 
seventeen  miles  to  see  a  saint  indeed,  a  woman  that  had  been 
confined  to  her  bed  for  fifteen  years,  and  happy  in  the  love 
of  God,  though  she  had  never  seen  a  Methodist,  nor  any 
other  truly  religious  people.  These  cases  show  what  God 
can  do  without  human  instrumentality.  On  leaving  the 
Springs  he  declared  them  the  best  and  the  worst  place  he  had 
been  in.  The  best  for  health,  and  the  worst  for  religion. 
His  health  was  now  so  far  restored  as  to  enable  him  to  go  on 
in  the  regular  itinerant  work. 

From  the  Conference  held  in  Baltimore  in  1776,  Mr.  Free- 
born Garrettson  commenced  his  regular  career  of  almost 
unparalleled  usefulness  as  a  Methodist  travelling  preacher. 
The  sore  conflict  of  soul  through  which  he  had  passed  in 
consenting  to  move  in  the  orbit  of  itinerancy,  together  with 
his  much  fasting,  abstaining,  and  abundant  labors,  had  greatly 
enfeebled  his  body.  He  left  his  bed — rode  to  Baltimore — 
passed  through  an  examination  before  the  Conference — was 
admitted  on  trial ;  and  for  the  first  time  received  a  written 
license  from  Mr.  Rankin.  On  leaving  the  preaching  house, 
and  at  the  place  where  he  went  to  dine,  he  fainted.  When 
he  came  to,  he  was  surrounded  by  several  preachers  who 
looked  to  him  more  like  angels  than  men.  It  seemed  to  him 
that  he  had  been  in  a  place  that  he  did  not  wish  to  leave ; 
and  asked,  "Where  have  I  been?"  While  the  preachers 
were  singing  and  praying  around  him,  such  was  his  happiness 
that  it  seemed  to  be  the  vestibule  of  heaven  to  him. 

He  was  appointed  to  Frederick  Circuit.     None  but  those 

who  have  felt  it,  know  the  feelings  of  a  young  preacher  as 

the  hour  approaches  when  a  congregation  expects   him  to 

preach,  and  he  feels  that  he  has  neither  text  nor  sermon  to 

15 


170  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1776. 

meet  their  expectation.  Such  was  Mr.  Garrettson's  feeling 
on  several  occasions  at  this  time.  Sometimes  he  was  tempted 
to  hide  himself,  or  wished  that  he  was  sick.  He  even  envied 
the  condition  of  insects  that  crawled  on  the  earth.  At  one 
time,  as  he  was  riding  to  his  appointment,  he  turned  his  horse 
three  different  times  to  go  home  and  preach  no  more.  He 
always  found  that  when  he  was  thus  weak  he  was  strong — 
that  the  greater  the  cross  was  to  speak  for  God,  the  greater 
was  the  blessing,  both  to  himself  and  the  people — that  these 
seasons  of  mourning,  weeping,  and  praying  under  the  cross 
were  pledges  of  powerful  meetings  ;  on  one  of  these  occasions 
the  power  of  God  fell  on  the  people  so  remarkably  that  the 
meeting  lasted  till  nearly  night,  and  twenty  broken-hearted 
sinners  were  added  to  a  small  society  of  four. 

After  spending  half  of  the  year  on  Frederick  Circuit,  he 
spent  three  months  on  Fairfax  Circuit ;  and  the  last  quarter 
of  this  year  he  was  in  New  Virginia,  in  what  was  afterwards 
Berkley  Circuit.  In  this  region  there  were  several  small 
societies  already  formed,  and  many  doors  were  open  to  the 
preachers.  At  Shepherdstown  he  was  permitted  to  preach 
in  the  church.  The  fourth  time  he  preached  in  it  there  was 
a  great  crowd,  and  a  woman  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  As  this 
was  new  to  them,  many  of  them  tried  to  get  out  of  the 
church ;  but  could  not  for  the  crowd  at  the  door.  The  Lord 
set  her  soul  at  liberty — she  clapped  her  hands  and  joyfully 
praised  the  Lord,  and  then  sat  down  quietly.  Most  of  the 
people  were  melted  into  tears.  The  minister  of  the  church 
said  the  doctrine  that  Mr.  Garrettson  preached  might  be 
true,  as  he  seemed  to  bring  Scripture  to  prove  it,  but  he 
knew  nothing  about  it.     Good-natured  man  ! 

It  was  a  very  affecting  time  when  Mr.  Garrettson  took 
leave  of  this  people.  He  addressed  a  large  assembly  for 
nearly  three  hours,  and  was  listened  to  with  the  greatest 
interest  while  the  presence  of  God  rested  upon  the  audience. 
When  he  concluded  the  people  hung  around  him,  begging 
him  with  their  words  and  tears  not  to  leave  them ;  nor  did  his 
tears  flow  less  freely.  At  last  he  tore  himself  away,  in  hope 
of  meeting  them  where  tears  are  wiped  from  all  faces. 

Mr.  Waiters,  from  the  Conference  in  Baltimore,  was  re- 
turned to  Fairfax  Circuit.  He  spent  a  part  of  this  year  in 
forming  Berkley  Circuit.  In  Berkley  and  Frederick  coun- 
ties, Va.,  he  was,  to  many  of  the  people,  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  that  they  saw  and  heard.  In  this  new  field  he  found 
many  anxious  inquirers  after  salvation.     The  latter  part  of 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  171 

this  year  he  spent  in  Frederick  Circuit,  among  loving 
friends. 

Messrs.  M'Clure  and  Fonerdon  were  stationed  with  Mr. 
Watters.  Adam  Fonerdon  appears  to  have  been  a  local 
preacher  from  Baltimore  or  Frederick  county,  taken  up  as  a 
temporary  supply ;  after  this  we  do  not  meet  with  his  name. 

Mr.  Thomas  McClure  continued  to  travel  and  preach  until 
1782,  when  he  located.     He  was  a  firm,  useful  preacher. 

Messrs.  Gatch  and  Sigman  were  stationed  on  Hanover 
Circuit  this  year.  Mr.  John  Sigman  was  a  local  preacher  in 
Alexandria,  Va.,  when  Methodism  was  first  planted  there  in 
1774.     In  1780  he  located. 

Mr.  Gatch  says:  "Mr.  Rankin  asked  me  if  I  was  willing, 
at  this  Conference,  to  take  an  appointment  in  Virginia.  I 
gave  him  to  understand  that  I  could  have  no  objection.  So 
my  next  appointment  was  to  Hanover  Circuit.  I  had  the 
privilege  of  Mr.  Sbadford's  company  into  Virginia,  he  also 
having  an  appointment  to  that  state.  My  circuit  was  very 
large.  It  lay  on  both  sides  of  James  river,  and  was  a  part 
of  six  counties.  But  it  appeared  like  a  new  world  of  grace. 
The  Baptists,  who  preceded  us,  had  encountered  and  rolled 
back  the  wave  of  persecution.  Shubal  Stearns  and  Daniel 
Marshall,  who  were  the  first-fruits  of  George  Whitefield's 
labors  in  the  East,  had  become  Baptist  members  of  the  sepa- 
rate order.  They  had  travelled  extensively  through  the 
state,  and  others,  through  their  instrumentality,  were  raised 
up,  and  became  faithful  and  zealous  ministers,  and  they 
endured  a  great  deal  of  persecution.  As  a  token  of  respect, 
I  will  here  name  John  Waller,  with  whom  I  became  intimate. 
He  was  an  American  in  sentiment,  a  good  preacher,  and 
suffered  much  for  the  cause.  He  was  confined  in  jail,  first 
and  last,  one  hundred  and  thirteen  days,  in  different  counties. 
Mr.  Garrett  and  Mr.  M'Roberts,  two  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  did  not  confine  their  labor  to  their  respec- 
tive parishes,  had  also  preached  in  those  parts,  and  we 
entered  into  their  labors. 

"  The  congregations  on  the  circuit  were  very  large,  so 
that  we  had  frequently  to  preach  in  orchards  and  in  the  grove. 
Mr.  Rankin  was  with  us  at  our  first  quarterly  meeting. 
Though  the  labors  of  the  circuits  were  hard,  yet  they  were 
rendei-ed  pleasant  to  me  till  the  fall  of  the  year,  when  the 
weather  became  cool.  From  preaching  out  of  doors  to  large 
congregations,  which  made  it  necessary  to  extend  the  voice, 
my  health  failed ;  and  my  lungs  became  so  affected  that  for 
some  time  I  was  entirely  unable  to  preach.     Mr.  Shadford, 


172  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

who  had  been  appointed  to  Brunswick  Circuit,  attended  our 
second  quarterly  meeting,  and  I  took  his  place.  My  health 
remained  so  poor  that  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  I 
could  reach  the  circuit.  On  my  way  I  lay  sick  two  weeks  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  St.  Patrick.  I  thought  him  the  most  holy 
person  I  ever  saw.  He  seemed  to  breathe  in  an  atmosphere 
of  prayer,  and  enjoy  communion  with  God  at  all  times,  even 
while  engaged  in  the  secular  employments  of  life.  I  found 
it  good  to  be  afflicted  at  the  house  of  such  a  saint,  and  his 
society  and  example  were  a  blessing  to  me.  When  I  got 
into  my  circuit  I  was  able  to  preach  but  seldom.  Sometimes 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  I  attempted  to  pray  in  public.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  my  lungs  were  entirely  gone.  Fre- 
quently I  would  have  to  raise  up  in  the  bed  to  get  my  breath. 
I  felt  it  even  a  difficulty  to  live.  The  sensation  of  my  whole 
system  was  as  though  thousands  of  pins  were  piercing  me. 
While  in  the  North,  I  had  to  contend  with  persecution ;  now 
bodily  affliction  attended  me.  At  times  I  felt  comfortable  ; 
but  not  being  able  to  serve  the  circuit  was  a  great  affliction 
to  my  feelings. 

"  Mr.  Garrett  lived  in  the  bounds  of  this  circuit.  He 
labored  extensively,  and  was  very  useful.  Several  preachers 
were  raised  up  under  his  ministry,  who  became  connected 
with  our  society,  and  some  of  them  itinerated.  He  fitted 
up  his  barn  for  our  accommodation,  and  it  became  a  regular 
preaching  place,  where  quarterly  meetings  were  occasionally 
held.  The  hospitalities  of  his  house  were  generously  con- 
ferred upon  us,  while  he  was  truly  a  nursing  father  to  Method- 
ist preachers.  Mr.  Shadford  had  spent  the  principal  part 
of  his  time  for  two  years  on  this  circuit.  His  ministry  had 
been  owned  of  the  Lord.  Great  numbers  had  embraced 
religion ;  some  professed  sanctification,  and  the  societies 
were  comfortably  established  in  the  gospel  of  their  salvation. 
I  was  in  company  with  one  of  the  preachers  raised  up  under 
Mr.  Garrett's  ministry,  who  I  heard  had  professed  sancti- 
fication. I  spoke  to  him  on  the  subject.  He  said  he  had 
once  professed  it,  but  afterward  concluded  that  he  must  have 
been  deceived.  I  inquired  for  the  reason.  He  said  his  wife 
became  sick,  apparently  nigh  unto  death,  and  he  could  not 
give  her  up.  I  asked  him  if  she  did  die — I  knew  she  was 
still  living.  He  answered  no.  'Then,'  said  I,  'you  was 
right,  as  it  was  not  the  will  of  God  she  should  die.'  I  ex- 
horted him  to  hold  fast  faith,  and  make  a  proper  use  of  it; 
for  then  it  will  be  like  the  flaming  sword  in  the  east  of  the 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  l73 

garden,  turning  every  way,  and  then  -will  our  confidence  in 
God  remain  unshaken. 

^'  Mr.  Garrett  attended  our  quarterly  meeting,  and  ren- 
dered good  service.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  moved  upon  the 
souls  of  the  people.  My  own  soul  was  greatly  refreshed. 
In  the  latter  part  of  my  time  on  the  circuit,  I  had  more 
strength  of  body,  and  the  Lord  blessed  me  with  the  spirit  of 
preaching.  I  had  a  great  attachment  to  the  people  of  the 
circuit,  and  hope  to  meet  many  of  them  in  the  kingdom  of 
our  heavenly  Father.  After  our  last  quarterly  meeting,  I 
set  out  for  the  Conference  to  be  held  in  Baltimore,  May  20, 
1777."* 

North  Carolina  first  appears  on  the  Minutes  this  year. 

In  1773,  the  preachers  began  to  preach  in  North  Carolina. 
Mr.  Pilmoor  passing  through  it  preached  a  few  times  in  the 
early  part  of  this  year ;  and  Mr.  Williams  visited  it  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  same  year;  and  in  the  spring  of  1774 
began  to  form  societies  in  it.  Some  of  the  first  societies 
formed  in  this  province  were  in  Halifax  county ;  and  in  this 
region  Methodism  had  its  greatest  strength  in  this  state  while 
in  its  infancy.  The  following  were  the  principal  families 
among  the  Methodists  in  this  state,  in  the  beginning :  The 
EUises ;  Reuben  Ellis  was  one  of  the  first  travelling  preachers 
from  this  state.  The  Yancys ;  Mrs.  Yancy  was  one  of  the 
most  self-denying,  holy  women  that  ever  was ;  the  Rev.  John 
Dickins  married  a  Miss  Yancy.  Mr.  Gabriel  Long,  with 
whom  Jesse  Lee  lived  before  he  was  a  travelling  preacher, 
w^as  a  great  Christian.  Near  him  lived  Mr.  Bustion,  another 
good  man.  Colonel  Taylor's  family,  on  Tar  river,  was  a 
chief  family  in  the  beginning.  There  were  Drs.  Peets  and 
King.  The  Williamses  were  considered  wealthy.  There 
were  Adams,  and  Ashton,  Baxter,  Beck,  Burrows,  and  Brow- 
der;  Cooper,  Crawford,  Clenny,  Clayton,  Costus,  Carter, 
and  Cole;  Duke,  Dobb,  and  Doale;  Edwards,  and  Easter; 
Guthrey ;  Hardgrove,  Howell,  Hatfield,  Hill,  Hinton,  Har- 
riss,  Hearn,  and  Henly ;  Jones,  and  Jean ;  Kennon ;  Lind- 
say, Lock,  Lee,  and  Leadbctter ;  Merrett,  Martin,  Madeira, 
Malone,  and  Moore  ;  Crump,  Price,  Pegram,  Paschall,  and 
Pope ;  Reeves,  Roads,  Randall,  and  Ross ;  Jenkins,  Seward, 
and  Short;  Turner,  and  Todd;  Low,  and  Tillman;  White, 
Whittaker,  West,  Wim,  and  Young. 

Arnett,  Allen ;  Bryan,  Bell,  Burr,  and  Ballard ;  Camp- 
bell, Connelly,  Currell,  Carson,  Clarke,  and  Cox  ;  Elsberry, 

*  Sketch  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Gatch,  p.  50-54. 
15* 


174  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

Gordon,  Gardiner,  and  Gibson ;  Col.  Hindorn,  Herndon, 
Horton,  Hardy,  Harrison,  and  Heady ;  Johnson,  Jackson, 
and  Jarvis ;  Kimbrough,  Lloyd,  and  Lowe ;  M'Master,  and 
Anthony  Moore,  who  was  a  great  saint;  Night,  and  M'Night; 
Proby,  Reddrick,  Rainy,  and  Richardson;  Smith,  Threadgill, 
and  Sannders  ;  Tomlinson,  and  Thompson ;  Snipe,  Weather- 
spoon,  and  Ward. 

In  this  list  of  names  we  mention  only  a  few  of  those  who 
first  received  the  preachers,  and  had  the  preaching  at  their 
houses.  Out  of  some  of  the  above-named  families,  preachers 
of  the  gospel  came;  and  some  of  them  were  instrumental  in 
building  chapels  at  that  early  day  that  were  called  after 
them. 

Messrs.  Drumgole,  Poythress,  and  Tatum,  were  in  Caro- 
lina this  year. 

Mr.  Isham  Tatum  was  a  native  of  the  South.  After 
spending  five  years  as  a  travelling  preacher,  he  desisted,  and 
settled  in  the  South,  where  he  lived  many  years  in  good 
repute  as  a  local  preacher.  In  his  last  days  he  was  repre- 
sented as  the  oldest  Methodist  preacher  in  America,  if  not 
the  oldest  in  the  world.  His  deep  and  uniform  piety, 
together  with  his  usefulness,  secured  to  him  great  respect 
from  his  brethren.  After  spending  many  days  in  the 
service  of  his  Redeemer,  he  was  gathered,  with  honor,  to  his 
fathers. 

Mr.  Francis  Poythress  was  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  or 
of  Virginia,  bordering  on  that  province.  He  was  born  near 
the  time  of  George,  afterwards  General,  Washington's  nati- 
vity, in  1732.  He  inherited,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  a 
considerable  personal  and  real  estate.  Under  the  influence 
of  impetuous  feelings,  such  as  actuated  his  course  of  life,  he 
rushed  into  all  the  follies  and  vices  of  the  irreligious  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived ;  and,  probably,  greatly  pared 
down  his  paternal  inheritance.  By  a  merciful  Providence, 
he  was  brought  to  right  reflection  by  pungent  reproof, 
administered  to  him  by  a  lady  of  high  rank.  In  confusion 
of  mind  he  left  her  house  hurriedly,  and  on  his  way  home 
resolved  to  mend  his  manners.  He  took  the  right  means — 
he  began  to  read  the  Bible,  and  pray  in  secret.  His  con- 
victions increasing — his  miserable  feelings  led  him  to  inquire 
for  some  one  who  was  capable  to  instruct  him  in  the  good 
way.  After  a  long  time  of  darkness  and  sorrow,  he  heard 
of  the  Rev.  Devereaux  Jarratt, — he  found  him,  and  remained 
for  some  time  at  his  house  receiving  instruction  from  him ; 
this  was,  most  likely,  about  1772.     As  soon  as  he  received 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  175 

a  knowledge  of  his  acceptance  with  God,  he  began  to  travel 
about  and  preach  the  way  to  heaven  to  all  who  would  hear 
him ;  this  was  before  the  Methodist  preachers  had  reached 
his  natal  region.  Soon  after,  he  fell  in  with  a  Methodist 
preacher, — Williams,  Pilmoor,  Wright,  or  some  one  of  those 
who  first  visited  Virginia, — who  gave  him  the  doctrine  and 
discipline  of  the  Methodists,  which  he  approved  of  and 
joined  them. 

From  the  first  Conference  of  1773,  Richard  Wright  was 
stationed  in  Virginia.  In  the  spring  of  1774,  he  returned, 
giving  a  good  account:  stating  that  one  Methodist  chapel 
was  built,  and  "  two  or  three  more  preachers  had  gone  out 
on  the  Methodist  plan."  It  is  within  the  range  of  conjecture 
that  Mr.  Poythress  was  one  of  these : — in  the  fall  of  1775, 
he  was  received  as  a  travelling  preacher,  at  a  quarterly 
meeting  on  Brunswick  Circuit,  together  with  James  Foster, 
and  Joseph  Hartley.  See  Asbury's  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  124. 
He  became  a  very  considerable  preacher  among  the  Method- 
ists. For  twelve  years  in  succession,  from  1786  to  1797, 
he  filled  what  has  since  been  called  the  office  of  Presiding 
Elder.  In  1797,  when  Mr.  Asbury  was  much  afflicted,  and 
worn  down  by  labor,  he  was  making,  in  his  judgment,  a 
selection  of  suitable  men  to  strengthen  the  Episcopacy,  he 
named  three,  Messrs.  Whatcoat,  Lee,  and  Poythress.  The 
General  Conference  of  1800  elected  but  one,  and  the  lot  fell 
on  Mr.  Whatcoat.  At  this  time  Mr.  Poythress  must  have 
stood  very  high  in  Mr.  Asbury's  estimation,  as  he  regarded 
him  as  a  suitable  person  to  help  bear  the  burthen  of  the 
Episcopacy.  He  followed  the  tide  of  emigration,  too ;  and 
assisted  in  planting  Methodism  in  Kentucky.  His  name  is 
found  in  the  Minutes  for  the  last  time  in  1802.  It  is  not 
said  how  he  retired  from  the  work.  In  1810,  Mr.  Asbury 
saw  him  for  the  last  time  in  Jessamine  county ;  he  says, 
''  This  has  been  an  awful  day  to  me ;  I  visited  Francis 
Poythress;  if  thou  beest  he,  but,  0  how  fallen  !" 

To  understand  this  language  of  Bishop  Asbury,  Mr. 
Poythress,  while  he  continued  in  a  course  of  moral  rectitude, 
as  far  as  he  was  capable  of  to  the  end  of  his  protracted  life, 
began  to  show  signs  of  insanity  in  1794,  which  increased 
from  year  to  year,  asserting  that  he  was  "a  ruined  man," 
and  that  his  best  friends  were  conspiring  to  ruin  him,  and 
"the  officers  of  justice"  were  pursuing  him.  It  has  been 
supposed  that  the  failure  of  Bethel  Academy  in  Kentucky, 
an  institution  which  he  had  a  deep  interest  in,  was  a  cause 
of  his  mental  derangement.    It  may  be  asked,  "  Was  Bishop 


176  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

Asburj  such  a  poor  judge  of  Episcopal  qualification  as  to 
suggest  a  man  with  a  vein  of  insanity  in  him,  as  fit  for  the 
office  ?"  The  answer  is,  "In  1788,  when  he  was  deemed  to 
be  sound  mentally,  as  well  as  morally,  he  went  to  Kentucky, 
where  the  Bishop  could  have  but  little  intercourse  with  him, 
and  lacked  opportunities  to  discover  his  state  of  mind."  It 
was  not  until  the  fall  of  1799  that  he  furnished  unequivocal 
evidence  of  his  state — then,  his  body  and  mind  became  a 
complete  wreck.  In  1800,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a 
district,  but  could  not  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  charge.  It 
has  been  intimated  that  he  dealt  rashly  with  Benjamin 
Ogden,  one  of  the  first  itinerants  sent  to  Kentucky ;  if  so,  it 
may  find  its  apology  in  his  state  of  mind. 

Judge  Scott,  of  Ohio,  says,  "  His  rank,  as  a  preacher,  was 
not  much  above  mediocrity."  He  was  about  five  feet  nine 
inches  high,  and  heavily  built, — his  muscles  large, — in  the 
prime  of  life  may  have  been  a  man  of  great  muscular  power. 
His  complexion  was  dark,  and  his  facial  expression  grave, 
inclining  to  melancholy.  In  old  age  his  eyes  were  sunken 
in  their  sockets, — his  hair  gray,  turned  back,  and  hanging 
over  his  shoulders, — his  dress  plain  and  neat.  To  the  last 
he  had  honorable  feelings,  and  a  proper  sense  of  moral 
obligation.  In  his  last  days  he  found  a  home  with  his  sister, 
a  Mrs.  Pryor,  who  lived  twelve  miles  south  of  Lexington, 
Ky.,  where  he  died,  some  time  after  1810.  He  was  eighty 
or  more  years  old,  at  his  death.  See  "  Sketches  of  Western 
Methodism,"  by  J.  B.  Finley,  pp.  132—142. 

On  Brunswick,  Messrs.  Shadford,  Duke,  and  Glendenning 
were  laboring.  Here,  Mr.  Shadford's  success  was  greater  than 
it  had  ever  been  before.  He  says,  "  I  seldom  preached  a  ser- 
mon but  some  were  convinced  or  converted,  often  three  or  four 
at  a  time."  Among  the  converts  was  a  dancing-master,  whose 
name  was  Metcalf,  but  by  way  of  nickname  was  called 
Madcap.  He  first  came  to  hear  Mr.  Shadford,  dressed  in 
scarlet,  he  next  came  dressed  in  green ;  but  was  so  cut 
under  the  preaching,  and  felt  such  a  load  of  sin  on  his  soul, 
that  he  moved  heavily,  and  could  not  "  shake  his  heels 
at  all."  He  gave  up  a  large  and  profitable  dancing-school, 
and  determined  to  dance  no  more,  and  engaged  in  teaching 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  He  obtained  the  pardon- 
ing love  of  God,  joined  the  Methodists,  and  after  living  a  few 
years,  he  died  a  great  witness  for  God ;  having  been  one  of 
the  most  devoted  Christians  in  the  connection. 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  S.  could  not  reach  his  appoint- 
ment by  reason  of  a  flood,  that  prevented  him  from  finding 


1776.]  IN   AMERICA,  177 

the  bridge.  He  went  to  a  planter  near  by,  and  obtained 
permission  to  sleep  at  his  house.  Finding  the  region  was 
well  inhabited,  a  congregation  was  collected,  to  whom  he 
preached.  After  the  planter  had  heard  him  a  second  time, 
the  deep  of  his  heart  was  broken  up,  and  he  would  have 
preaching  at  his  house.  He  and  his  Avife  soon  found  the 
Lord ;  a  great  work  began  ;  and  there  was  a  society  of 
seventy  raised  up  in  that  place.  We  presume,  this  was  in 
the  region  of  the  Dismal  Swamp.  This  year  he  and  his 
colleagues  added  eighteen  hundred  to  the  societies  on  Bruns- 
wick Circuit,  and  the  following  summer  and  fall  of  1776, 
about  one  thousand. 

In  June,  1776,  Mr.  Rankin  went  to  Virginia,  where  the 
great  revival  that  began  in  1775,  was  still  in  progress. 
Here  the  displays  of  God's  power  exceeded  anything  that 
he  had  witnessed  in  Maryland,  or  that  he  had  ever  seen. 
"  Many  were  calling  aloud  for  mercy  ;  while  others  were 
praising  their  Saviour.  My  voice  was  drowned  amidst  the 
pleasing  sounds  of  prayer  and  praise.  Husbands  were  in- 
viting their  wives  to  go  with  them  to  heaven,  and  parents 
were  calling  upon  their  children  to  come  to  the  Lord.  As 
my  strength  had  failed,  I  desired  Brother  Shadford  to  speak ; 
in  attempting  it,  he  was  overcome  and  obliged  to  sit  down  ; 
and  this  was  the  case  both  with  him  and  myself,  over  and 
over  again.  This  mighty  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  continued 
for  more  than  two  hours.  It  was  difficult  to  persuade  the 
people  to  leave  the  meeting  as  night  came  on.  Some  of 
them  had  to  ride  sixteen  miles  to  reach  their  homes.  Up- 
wards of  fifty  were  on  that  day  born  from  above,  besides 
many  that  testified  to  the  all-cleansing  blood  of  Christ.  It 
being  our  quarterly  meeting,  I  was  informed  that  a  company 
of  soldiers  were  to  be  at  the  meeting  to  take  up  the  preachers. 
Some  of  our  good  people,  men  and  women,  came  to  me,  with 
tears,  persuading  me  to  leave  the  meeting.  My  reply  was — 
I  fear  nothing,  and  will  abide  the  consequences.  I  went  to 
the  arbor,  where  I  saw  the  soldiers.  After  singing,  I  called 
on  all  the  people  to  lift  up  their  hearts  to  God.  When  we 
arose  from  our  knees,  most  of  the  congregation  were  bathed 
in  tears,  and  several  of  the  officers  and  their  men  were  wiping 
their  eyes.  I  had  not  spoken  ten  minutes  when  a  cry  went 
through  the  people,  and  some  of  the  officers  and  soldiers 
were  trembling.  We  concluded  our  meeting  in  peace  ;  and 
some  of  the  officers  said,  "  God  forbid  that  we  should  hurt  a 
hair  of  the  head  of  such  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
who  show  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation." 


178  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

This  quarterly  meeting  was  held  on  the  27th  of  August, 
1776.  In  the  afternoon,  and  particularly  in  the  evening  of 
this  day,  Mr.  Rankin  "  had  a  strong  impulse  upon,  and  pre- 
sentiment in  his  mind,  that  there  had  been  an  engagement 
between  the  British  and  American  troops."  He  mentioned 
it  to  one  of  the  preachers,  adding,  "  We  shall  soon  know 
whether  this  presentiment  is  from  God  or  not."  Two  days 
afterwards,  he  heard  of  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  which 
took  place  on  the  27th,  the  day  on  which  he  had  the  pre- 
sentiment.* 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


Of  the  great  work  in  Virginia,  its  origin  and  progress, 
the  reader  will  find  a  further  account  in  what  follows. 

Hitherto  Maryland  had  been  the  field  where  the  labor  of 
Methodist  preachers  had  been  crowned  with  the  greatest 
success ;  but  now,  Virginia,  especially  that  part  of  it  south 
of  James  River,  became  the  hotbed  of  Methodism.  Candor 
rec{uires  us  to  say,  that  the  foundation  of  the  great  spiritual 
prosperity  of  this  region  had  been  laid  by  the  evangelical 
ministry  of  the  Rev.  Devereaux  Jarratt,  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Mr.  Jarratt  studied  divinity  under  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Davies,  who  was  the  Presbyterian  minister  in  Hano- 
ver county,  Virginia  ;  and  experienced  a  change  of  heart, 
of  which  he  was  fully  sensible  while  a  student. 

As  the  circumstances  that  led  to  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Davies  in  Hanover  county  are  singular,  we  will  relate  them. 
He  was  of  Welsh  descent,  born  within  the  limits  of  wdiat  is 
called  the  *'  Welsh  Tract,"  in  New  Castle  county,  Delaware, 
on  the  farm  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Alman  Lum,  near 
the  Summit  Bridge.  The  Rev.  William  Robinson  visited 
Virginia  in  1743,  and  was  invited  to  preach  at  Morris's 
Reading  Room — a  building  that  Mr.  Samuel  Morris,  and 
others,  had  erected  for  the  people  of  the  neighborhood,  to  hear 
Luther's  Commentary,  Boston's  Fourfold  State,  and  White- 
field's  Sermons  read  in,  as  they  had  no  minister  at  that  time. 
The  night  before  Mr.  Robinson  preached  at  the  Reading 
Room,  he  stayed  at  a  tavern  w^here  he  had  occasion  to  re- 
prove the  landlord  for  profanity,  who  wished  to  know  who 

*  Abridged  from  Mr.  Wesley's  Missionaries  to  America. 


1776.]  IN  AMERICA.  179 

Mr.  Robinson  was,  that  he  took  such  authority  upon  him. 
Mr.  Robinson  replied,  "  I  am  a  minister  of  the  Gospel." 
The  landlord  replied,  "  Then  your  looks  belie  you  very 
much."  Mr.  Robinson's  features  were  very  homely  ;  his 
face  much  disfigured  by  the  small-pox,  by  which  he  had  lost 
the  use  of  one  of  his  eyes.  Mr.  R.  said,  "  If  you  will  accom- 
pany me  to-morrow,  you  can  hear  me  preach ;"  to  which  the 
landlord  consented,  provided  he  would  preach  on  "  I  am 
fearfully  and  wonderfully  made."  This  text  was  given  by 
the  landlord  as  a  sarcasm  on  Mr.  Robinson's  face.  Under 
the  discourse,  the  tavern-keeper  was  made  to  see  that  his 
sinful  soul  was  as  uncomely  in  the  sight  of  God,  as  Mr. 
Robinson's  face  was  in  his  eye,  and  led  to  his  reformation. 
A  collection  was  made  and  sent  to  Mr.  Robinson  to  pay 
him  for  his  preaching ;  which  he  received  on  this  condition, 
that  it  should  be  applied  to  educate  some  pious  indigent 
young  man  for  the  ministry — with  a  further  understanding, 
that  the  young  man  should  come  and  preach  for  them  when 
he  was  prepared.  This  money  was  applied  to  educate  young 
Samuel  Davies,  who  afterwards  was  settled  in  Hanover 
county,  Virginia. 

While  ministering  here  he  was  much  interested  for  the 
slaves,  many  of  whom  attended  his  ministry  and  belonged  to 
his  church.  Some  of  them,  in  the  improvement  of  their  few 
leisure  hours,  had  learned  to  read,  and  were  very  desirous  to 
have  books.  He  supplied  them  to  the  utmost  of  his  means. 
About  this  time  Mr.  Wesley  was  much  affected  by  one  of  his 
letters,  and  sent  a  donation  of  books  and  tracts  to  him,  to 
be  distributed  among  such  as  could  read.  The  psalms  and 
hymns  were  peculiarly  acceptable  to  them.  Some  of  them 
would  stay  all  night  in  his  kitchen,  and  at  all  hours  of  the 
night  when  he  would  awake  out  of  sleep,  "  a  torrent  of 
sacred  psalmody  was  pouring  into  his  bed  chamber."  Some 
of  them  spent  the  whole  night  in  this  exercise ;  Mr.  Davies 
observed  that  "  the  negroes,  above  all  the  human  species, 
have  the  nicest  ear  for  music." 

The  books  that  Mr.  Wesley  sent  called  forth  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Davies,  which  fully  shows  what  spirit  he  was  of.  Some 
of  its  language  and  sentiments  were — "  I  have  long  loved 
you  and  your  brother,  and  prayed  for  your  success,  as  zealous 
revivors  of  experimental  Christianity.  If  I  differ  from  you 
in  temper  and  design,  or  in  the  essentials  of  religion,  I  am 
sure  the  error  must  lie  on  my  side.  Blessed  be  God  for 
hearts  to  love  one  another !  I  intended  to  have  kept  my 
peculiar  love  for  you  a  secret,  till  we  arrived  where  seas  shall 


180  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1776. 

no  more  roll  between  us.  But  your  late  pious  charity  con- 
strains me  to  give  you  the  trouble  of  a  letter.  I  am  confident 
God  will  bless  it,  and  render  you  useful  at  the  distance  of 
near  four  thousand  miles.  How  great  is  the  honor  God  has 
conferred  upon  you,  in  making  you  a  restorer  of  declining 
religion !  And  after  struggling  through  so  much  opposition, 
and  standing  almost  alone,  with  what  pleasure  must  you 
behold  so  many  raised  up,  zealous  in  the  same  cause  !  I 
desire  you  to  communicate  this  to  your  brother,  as  equally 
intended  for  him.  And  let  me  and  my  congregation,  par- 
ticularly my  poor  negro  converts,  be  favored  with  your 
prayers.  In  return  for  which  neither  you  nor  your  cause 
will  be  forgotten  by  your  affectionate  fellow-laborer  and 
obliged  servant." 

Mr.  Samuel  Davies  was  one  of  the  lights  of  the  last  cen- 
tury— he  drank  at  the  same  fountain  where  Wesley  and 
Whitefield  satisfied  their  souls.  He  arose  from  obscure  indi- 
gence to  be  president  of  Princeton  College. 

Mr.  Jarratt,  after  having  the  instructions  and  pious 
example  of  Mr.  Davies,  was  settled  in  the  parish  of  Bath, 
in  Dinwiddle  county,  Va.,  as  rector,  in  1763.  According  to 
his  account,  there  was  not  a  family  within  his  parish  that  had 
even  the  form  of  godliness,  and  profaneness  abounded.  He 
was  the  only  minister  in  the  province,  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, that  was,  at  that  time,  truly  evangelical.  His  doctrine 
of  the  fall,  repentance,  justification  by  faith,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  being  born  again,  raised  a  great  outcry  against  him. 

The  increased  attendance  of  the  common  people  from  Sab- 
bath to  Sabbath,  the  tears  that  fell  from  their  eyes,  and  some 
abatement  of  profanity,  encouraged  him  to  persevere. 

It  was  not  long  before  some  began  to  inquire  of  Mr.  Jar- 
ratt what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  He  now  began  to 
preach  abroad,  and  in  private  houses  ;  and  to  meet  the  serious, 
of  evenings,  for  religious  conversation.  In  1770  and  in  1771, 
the  work  was  much  greater,  especially  at  a  place  called  White 
Oak,  in  his  parish. 

Here  he  formed  the  awakened  into  a  society,  and  found 
that  they  increased  in  faith  and  holiness.  All  that  Mr.  Jar- 
ratt lacked,  even  at  this  time,  of  being  a  Methodist,  was  the 
name.  He  was  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Wesley,  and  was  a 
close  imitator  of  him ;  and  they  both  belonged  to  the  same 
church.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  in  this  part  of  Virgi- 
nia in  1772,  when  the  Methodist  preachers  first  went  there. 
During  this  year  the  work  was  greatly  enlarged.  The  labors 
of  the  preachers  seconding  those  of  Mr.  Jarratt,  the  revival 


1776.]  IN    AMERICA.  181 

spread  fifty  or  sixty  miles  around.  In  March,  1773,  the 
Kev.  Robert  Williams  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Jarratt,  and 
was  the  first  Methodist  preacher  that  visited  him.  Instead  of 
being  scowled  away  in  the  spirit  of  exclusiveness,  he  was  taken 
by  the  hand  as  a  brother  beloved.  The  next  year  other 
preachers  came,  who  received  a  cordial  welcome.  From  the 
year  1773,  the  work  was  carried  on  in  the  counties  of  Sussex 
and  Brunswick,  chiefly  by  the  Methodists ;  and  in  these 
counties  Methodism  had  its  stronghold  in  Virginia,  in  the 
last  century.  In  1774,  the  word  preached  was  attended  with 
greater  power  than  had  ever  been  known  in  that  region 
before ;  many  hearts  were  pierced,  tears  fell  plentifully,  and 
some  were  constrained  to  cry  aloud. 

In  1775,  Mr.  Shadford  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  Bruns- 
wick Circuit,  where  he  continued  his  labors  for  eighteen 
months.  During  this  time,  through  the  preaching  of  Mr. 
Jarratt,  and  the  Methodist  preachers,  accompanied  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  there  was  the  greatest  work  of  religion  that  had 
ever  been  known  in  America. 

In  1775,  Mr.  Asbury  was  preaching  on  the  Norfolk  Cir- 
cuit, and  in  the  fall  of  this  year  he  visited  Brunswick,  and 
labored  for  a  few  months.  Here  his  soul  caught  the  holy 
flame  that  was  burning  in  these  parts.  Mrs.  Jarratt  met  him 
and  entreated  him  to  come  into  their  parish ;  and  at  Captain 
Boushell's,  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jarratt  met  him,  giving  a  long 
account  of  the  work  under  Mr.  Shadford ;  here  they  held  a 
watch  night  together.  Mr.  Jarratt  had  fitted  up  his  barn 
for  the  Methodists  to  preach  in,  as  neither  of  his  churches 
were  very  near  to  his  residence.  We  give  some  of  the  most 
striking  occurrences  of  this  extraordinary  work,  as  detailed 
by  Mr.  Jarratt  and  others,  who  were  laborers  in  it,  in  the 
following  account : — 

"  In  Amelia  county,  where  the  people  had  been  notorious 
for  gaming,  swearing,  and  drunkenness,  a  great  reformation 
took  place.  The  work  went  on  through  the  fall,  and  greatly 
increased  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1776.  In  almost 
every  meeting  God's  power  was  manifested ;  and  when  those 
in  distress  were  questioned  concerning  their  state,  they 
answered  with  tears,  and  fell  on  their  knees,  asking  the 
prayers  of  God's  people.  From  the  old  stout-hearted  sinner, 
down  to  children  of  eight  or  nine  years  old,  many  were  sub- 
jects of  this  work.  In  their  prayer  meetings,  such  was  the 
distress  of  some,  that  they  have  continued  therein  for  five  or 
six  hours.  While  mercy  !  mercy  !  was  the  cry  of  penitents, 
the  professing  people  of  God  were  beseeching  Him  with 
16 


182  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

strong  cries  and  tears  to  sanctify  them  throughout  spirit, 
soul,  and  body.  The  work  was  now  general  in  Brunswick 
Circuit,  which  was  in  circumference  near  five  hundred  miles. 
In  May,  1776,  the  Methodists  held  their  quarterly  meeting 
at  Bath  Chapel,  in  Mr.  Jarratt's  parish.  Here  the  windows 
of  heaven  were  opened,  and  the  rain  of  Divine  influence 
poured  down  for  more  than  forty  days.  In  the  love-feast 
the  power  of  God  came  down,  and  the  house  was  filled  with 
His  presence.  The  flame  ran  from  heart  to  heart.  Many 
were  convinced  of  sin,  many  mourners  comforted,  and  many 
believers  so  overwhelmed,  as  to  believe  they  loved  the  Lord 
with  all  their  heart.  When  the  doors  were  opened,  many 
who  had  stayed  without,  came  in,  and  beholding  the  anguish 
of  some,  and  the  rejoicing  of  others,  were  filled  with  astonish- 
ment, and  soon,  with  trembling  apprehension  of  their  own 
danger,  several  of  them  prostrated  themselves  before  God, 
and  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  When  most  of  the  people  had 
gone  away,  the  distress  of  some  was  so  great,  that  they 
would  not  leave  the  place.  Some  lively  Christians  stayed 
and  prayed  with  them,  till  fifteen  of  them  could  rejoice  in 
God.  Some  careless  creatures,  of  the  politer  sort,  went  in 
to  see  this  strange  thing,  and  soon  felt  an  unusual  power, 
and  falling  on  their  knees,  cried  for  mercy,  and,  like  Saul, 
were  found  among  the  prophets. 

The  multitude  that  attended  this  meeting  returned  home 
fully  alive  to  God,  and  spread  the  flame  through  their 
respective  neighborhoods,  which  ran  from  family  to  family ; 
so  that  within  four  weeks  several  hundreds  found  the  peace  of 
God.  In  large  companies,  a  careless  individual  was  not  to 
be  found ;  and  most  of  them  were  truly  happy  in  the  love 
of  God. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Jarratt  attended  a  watch  night  with 
the  Methodists.  Such  was  the  distress  of  some  that  they 
continued  in  prayer  all  night,  and  till  two  hours  after  sun- 
rise. Here  some  fifteen  received  pardon ;  and  in  two  days 
thirty  of  his  parishioners  were  justified,  besides  others  of 
other  parishes.  Sometimes  at  a  meeting,  where  there  was 
no  preacher,  as  many  as  twenty  were  converted.  It  was 
common  for  men  and  women  to  fall  down  as  dead  under 
exhortation. 

Sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  would  fall  under  prayer. 
And  those  who  did  not  fall  would  wring  their  hands  and 
smite  their  breasts,  begging  the  prayers  of  Christians.  The 
deeper  the  distress  the  sooner  they  found  relief;  generally, 
some  got  through  in  a  week,  some  in  three  days,  some  in 


1776.]  IN   AMERICA.  183 

one,  two,  or  three  hours.  In  one  instance  one  was  so  indif- 
ferent as  to  leave  her  brethren  at  prayer  and  go  to  bed ;  but 
suddenly  she  screamed  out  under  a  sense  of  her  lost  estate, 
and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  rejoiced  in  her  Saviour. 
Many  who  were  before  despisers  and  scoffers  were  made 
happy  in  God.  One  young  woman  said  in  scorn,  that  as 
many  people  fell  down  she  would  go  and  help  them  up ;  she 
went,  the  power  of  God  seized  her  ;  and  she  needed  some  one 
to  help  her  up.  The  same  day  she  with  twenty  more  were 
enabled  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord. 

A  gentleman  of  Mr.  Jarratt's  parish  greatly  opposed  the 
work,  declaring  that  all  the  appearances  of  grief  or  joy  were 
deceit.  As  he  was  going  to  his  mill  conviction  seized  him. 
He  prostrated  himself  before  God  in  the  mill,  and  poured 
out  his  soul  in  prayer ;  his  cries  were  loud  ;  the  Lord  set  his 
soul  at  liberty.  And  so  great  was  the  power  that  came  upon 
him,  that  it  seemed  to  be  dissolving  his  body.  Another 
remarkable  case  was,  one  who  was  careless  and  profane  to  a 
high  degree,  was  persuaded  to  try,  for  one  week,  to  watch 
against  sin,  and  go  into  secret  every  day.  He  did  so: 
and  though  he  was  quite  stupid  when  he  began,  yet  before 
the  end  of  the  week  he  w^as  fully  sensible  of  his  sins ;  and 
soon  was  happy  in  God. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  a  great  meeting  at  Bois- 
seau's  Chapel.  In  the  midst  of  it  the  power  of  God  descended, 
and  hundreds  fell  to  the  ground,  and  the  place  seemed  to 
shake  with  the  presence  of  God.  Many  were  outside ;  every 
face  seemed  bathed  in  tears ;  nothing  was  heard  but  groans 
and  strong  cries  after  God.  The  preacher  took  his  seat; 
and  now  husbands  were  inviting  their  wives  to  go  to  heaven, 
wives  their  husbands ;  parents  their  children,  and  children 
their  parents ;  brothers  their  sisters,  and  sisters  their  brothers. 
It  was  with  difficulty  that  the  people  were  persuaded,  as  night 
drew  near,  to  retire  to  their  homes.  A  small  meeting  was 
held  at  White  Oak  Chapel.  The  preacher  had  to  stop  again 
and  again.  Some  were  on  their  knees,  and  some  on  their 
faces,  were  crying  mightily  to  God  all  the  time  of  preaching. 
A  justice  of  the  peace,  whose  whole  family  was  religious, 
observed  that  the  change  wrought  in  his  neighborhood  was 
amazing  !  That  before  the  Methodists  came  among  them, 
w^hen  he  was  called  by  his  office  to  attend  court  there  was 
nothing  but  drunkenness,  swearing,  and  fighting  most  of  the 
time  of  the  court ;  but  now  nothing  is  heard  but  prayer  and 
praise,  and  conversing  about  the  things  of  God. 

This  great  work  spread  through  fourteen  counties  in  Vir- 


184  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1776. 

ginia,  lying  south  of  James  river,  and  through  Halifax  and 
Bertie,  in  North  Carolina.  These  "were  extraordinary  sea- 
sons :  the  Methodists  were  Episcopalians,  receiving  the  ordi- 
nances at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Jarratt,  and  the  Episcopalians 
were  Methodists,  encouraging  lay  preaching,  holding  class- 
meetings,  love-feasts,  and  watch-nights,  and  ail  rejoicing  in 
God,  with  the  Church  minister  at  their  head.  Concerning 
this  revival  Mr.  Jarratt  observes,  "  There  never  was  any 
remarkable  revival  of  religion  in  which  there  was  not  enthu- 
siasm, and  some  wild  fire  mixed  with  the  sacred  flame.  It 
seems  this  is  unavoidable  in  the  nature  of  things.  Some  of 
our  meetings  resembled  the  congregation  of  the  Jews  when  the 
foundation  of  the  second  temple  was  laid — some  wept  and 
others  shouted,  and  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other."  This  crying  out,  trembling,  falling,  and  convulsions 
among  his  people  led  him  to  read  President  Edwards  on 
Revivals,  who  observes,  "  That  wherever  these  most  appear 
there  is  always  the  greatest  and  deepest  work.  Sometimes 
five  or  six  were  praying  at  the  same  time  in  different  parts 
of  the  room,  and  others  exhorting  at  the  same  time  ;  and 
this  Dr.  Edwards  (a  Presbyterian)  also  defends."  As  this 
kind  of  confusion  abated,  the  work  of  conviction  and  conver- 
sion usually  abated,  too.  In  this  excitement  Mr.  Jarratt  did 
not  speak  against  it  in  the  congregation,  and  by  so  doing, 
gratify  the  people  of  the  world,  and  wound  the  children  of 
God ;  but  prudently  checked  it  by  singing  and  short  exhor- 
tations, and  by  advice  given  to  the  leaders  of  prayer-meetings 
how  they  should  manage  it,  so  as  not  to  destroy  the  genuine 
work  of  God.  In  this  great  reformation  and  revival  in 
Virginia  and  in  North  Carolina  in  1775  and  1776,  the 
Methodists  added  to  their  societies  between  three  and  four 
thousand.  How  many  hundreds  Mr.  Jarratt  took  into  his 
societies  we  cannot  say.  The  subjects  of  this  great  work 
amounted  to  several  thousand. 

Such  a  zealous  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  was 
the  Rev.  Devereaux  Jarratt.  He  was  the  first  minister 
that  received  the  despised  and  almost  friendless  Methodist 
preachers,  when  strangers,  to  his  house,  and  had  societies 
formed  in  his  parish ;  and  some  of  his  people  became  local 
and  travelling  preachers  among  the  Methodists.  He  preached 
in  most  of  the  parish  churches  within  fifty  miles  of  him, 
besides  preaching  on  many  solitary  plantations,  and  in  many 
Methodist  chapels.  His  ministry  was  crowned  of  God  in 
awakening  more  sinners  than  that  of  any  other  minister  in 
Virginia.     He  lived  to  see  four  or  five  periodical  revivals  in 


1776.]  IN   AMERICA.  185 

his  parish.  He  died  in  peace  on  the  30th  of  January,  1801, 
aged  sixty-nine  years.  A  sermon  was  preached  on  the  occa- 
sion by  Bishop  Asbury  on  Matt.  xxv.  21.  Of  him  Mr.  Lee 
says,  "  He  was  the  greatest  preacher  and  the  most  pious 
person  that  I  was  acquainted  with,  among  that  order  of 
ministers." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


This  may  be  a  proper  place  to  register  a  fcAV  more  names, 
in  addition  to  the  names  ah"eady  given  in  this  account  of 
early  Methodism  in  Virginia.  At  that  day,  to  be  a  Metho- 
dist was  to  peril  everything,  in  relation  to  the  fame  and  favor 
of  this  world ;  and  those  who  united  with  them  counted  well 
the  cost.  In  the  first  societ}''  at  Norfolk  were  Captain  Bickell, 
and  Joseph  Handing,  who  was  a  man  of  labor  and  sorrow, 
meek  and  benevolent ;  and  after  a  sojourn  of  thirty-seven 
years  among  the  Methodists,  died  in  1809.  Not  far  from 
Portsmouth  were  Owen's,  Fulford's,  Manning's,  and  Cuther- 
ell's,  ancient  stands  of  Methodist  preaching.  Cowling,  Pinner, 
and  Powell  were  the  first  three  families  that  opened  their 
houses  for  preaching  in  this  part  (Isle  of  Wight)  of  the 
province — the  last  named  was  a  preacher.  There  was  Mason's, 
w^here  a  chapel  was  built,  and  Conference  held  in  the  last 
century.  William,  and  Richard  Graves,  the  latter  a  preacher, 
after  enjoying  perfect  love  for  twenty  years  went  to  paradise 
in  1801.  Lewis  Loyd,  another  preacher,  after  enjoying  the 
great  salvation  for  fifteen  years,  went  to  glory  in  1794.  Owen 
and  Mathew  Myrick  ;  the  latter  was  alive  in  1815.  John,  and 
Thomas  Easter  both  became  travelling  preachers ;  the  former 
was  one  of  the  most  successful  preachers  the  Methodists  ever 
had.  Bishops  M'Kindree  and  George  were  both  awakened 
under  him,  and  thousands  of  others.  Willis  Wells,  an  early 
local  preacher,  died  in  great  peace  in  1808.  The  Ivy  family, 
out  of  which  Richard  came,  who  was  a  travelling  preacher 
of  distinction  in  the  beginning  of  Methodism.  William  Pat- 
tridge  was  also  a  travelling  preacher  of  blessed  memory  ;  and 
Lee  Roy  Cole.  In  Lunenburg  lived  the  Ogburn  family,  out  of 
which  two  travelling  preachers  came.  The  Fosters,  James,  and 
probably  Thomas,  both  belonging  to  the  first  race  of  travelling 
preachers.  At  Pride's  there  was  a  chapel  at  an  early  day, 
and  one  of  this  family  itinerated  for  a  while.  There  were 
16* 


186  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776. 

Majors  in  Virginia,  and  John  Major,  one  of  the  -weeping 
prophets  of  the  first  race  of  preachers,  was  from  there.  John 
Finney,  Lewis  Grigg,  and  Mr.  Phillips  were  early  local 
preachers.     Several  of  the  jMorrises  preached. 

In  Mecklenberg  was  Samuel  Homes,  an  old  stand  for 
Methodist  preaching,  and  an  old  Methodist  family ;  and  in 
Chesterfield  lived  that  good  old  saint  "Father  Patrick,"  at 
whose  house  there  was  preaching  and  quarterly  meetings. 
A  number  of  the  Virginia  Davises  were  early  Methodists — 
also  the  Tuckers,  Pelhams,  Parhams,  Bartletts,  and  Andrews. 
The  Moorings  lived  in  Surry  county  ;  out  of  this  family  came 
Christopher  S.  Mooring,  who  was  a  travelling  preacher. 
There  were  Andersons,  Morgans,  Robinsons,  Williams,  Speds, 
Youngs,  Col.  Bedford,  Manns,  Spencers,  Hills,  Georges, 
Howels,  Perkins,  who  married  a  sister  of  the  Rev.  Jesse 
Lee ;  Martins,  Rivers,  Hodges,  Crowders,  Colemans,  Clay- 
bourns,  Marks,  Pains,  Thompsons,  Spains,  Cannons — one  of 
this  name  itinerated ;  Rowls,  Dowby,  Hopkins,  Davenports, 
Easlins.  Keys,  Almonds,  Kutts,  Rowes — from  this  family 
came  the  Rev.  Samuel  Rowe  ;  Hales,  Nichols,  Spratley,  Fores, 
Walthels,  Popes,  Paces,  Carters,  Claytons,  Taylors,  Selbys, 
Weldens,  Parrots,  Carneys,  Wrights,  JoUiffs,  Yerberrys,  Tur- 
ners, Benns,  Blunts,  Birdsongs,  Briggs,  Baileys,  Lunsfords, 
Nemours,  Dawleys,  Whitlocks,  Denbighs,  Wilsons,  Moodys, 
Cowleys,  Grains,  Penningtons,  Reeples,  Batts,  Rogers, 
Hobbs,  Ruffins,  Bonners,  Hardings,  Landrums,  Agees,  Sew- 
ards,  Sheltons,  Mays,  Boyds,  Pegrams,  Staples,  Bakers, 
Browns,  and  Hays. 

In  Fauquier  county  lived  the  patriarch  Herman  Hitt,  who 
lived  to  a  great  age — he  was  the  head  of  eighteen  families. 
Three  of  his  sons — Martin,  Daniel,  and  Samuel — and  his 
grandson  William,  were  preachers.  Daniel  Hitt  was  book 
agent  at  one  time.  In  Culpepper  county  lived  the  Freys, 
and  Kaublers — out  of  these  families  came  preachers.  Mr. 
Henry  Fry  had  built  a  great  room  to  have  balls  in ;  but 
before  he  had  used  it  in  this  way  the  Lord  made  a  conquest 
of  him,  and  it  was  devoted  to  Methodist  preachers  to  preach  in. 

In  Spotsylvania,  where  Bishop  Asbury  expired,  the  Arnolds 
lived.  And  not  far  ofi",  the  Talleys  and  Tildens.*  In  Fair- 
fax, lived  Mr.  Fairfax,  a  descendant  of  Lord  Fairfax,  who 
gave  name  to  the  county ;  also,  the  Adams  family,  and 
Colonel  Bell,  and  Captain  Ward.  In  Alexandria,  Brothers 
Bushby,  Shaw,  and  Hickman.     There  were  Griffins,  Clarks, 

*  Dr,  Tilden  was  a  local  preacher. 


1776.]  IN   AMERICA.  187 

Suttles,  Parishes,  Greens,  "Walters,  Maxeys,  Woodsons, 
Grarretts,  Mercdys,  Grangers,  Lyons,  Dickinsons,  Collins, 
Rouses,  Hundleys,  Bauzees,  Billups,  Belamys,  Daughlass, 
Stubbs,  Shacklefords,  Godfreys,  Lasleys,  Grymes,  Roberts, 
Stockdales,   Fretwells,  and  Mumpins,    in   Madison   county. 

In  King's  and  Queen's  county,  lived  Mr.  Stedham,  a 
famous  horse-racer,  who  was  brought  to  Christ  in  his  old 
age.  In  Westmoreland  county  (General  Washington's  birth- 
place) lived  Mrs.  Ball,*  who  was  a  great  heroine  for  the 
Saviour.  She  was  urged  by  her  neighbors,  with  tears,  en- 
treaties, and  threats,  to  desist  from  receiving  the  Methodist 
preachers  and  preaching ;  but  all  in  vain.  In  finding  the 
way  of  peace,  she  had  suffered  too  much  to  depart  from  it. 
In  this  Northern  Neck,  lived  Bombrys,  Wallards,  Spriggs, 
Forrester,  (the  last  two  preachers,)  Doggett  Mitchel,  Tap- 
scott,  and  Lansdell.  These  were  the  first  fruits  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Everett's  ministry  in  this  Neck.  It  was  the  birth- 
place of  the  late  Bishop  George.  Bishop  M'Kendree  was 
also  a  native  of  Virginia.  There  w^ere  Dawsings,  Briscoes, 
Bransfords,  Dillards,  Nortons,  Raglands,  Reeses,  Watsons, 
and  Kelsicks. 

General  Russell,  whose  wife  was  the  sister  of  the  patriot, 
Patrick  Henry,  lived  in  Washington  or  Russell  county. 
Near  by  them,  were  Easleys,  Ayars,  and  M'Phersons.  In 
Botetourt  county,  lived  Edward  Mitchell,  where  Conference 
was  held  in  the  last  century.  In  New  Virginia,  was  Dew's, 
where  John  Tunnell  was  buried.  Higher  up,  towards  the 
Potomac,  were  Acuffs,  Hites,  Guests,  Bruces,  Perrills,  Ells- 
worths, Paups,  Strouds,  Phelps,  Harlands,  Boydstones, 
Fauntains ;  Cressap's  and  Colonel  Barratt's,  were  near  the 
Alleghany. 

In  Loudon  county,  Mrs.  Roszell  was  the  first  Methodist 
class-leader.  Her  son,  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Roszell,  was  well 
known  as  a  preacher.  Her  daughter,  Mrs.  Sarah  Donohoe, 
was  a  zealous  Methodist  for  sixty-three  years.  She  sleeps 
in  Jesus,  at  the  Roszell  Chapel.  In  Greenbrier  county, 
were  Watts,  Perkins,  Pennell,  and  Hyde.  Mrs.  Mary  Watts, 
mother  of  the  Rev.  James  Watts,  went  to  glory  in  her 
eighty-fifth  year.  Samuel  Perkins  and  John  Pennell  were 
local  preachers ;  also,  William  Appleby  and  AYright  Burgess. 
Mr.  John  Young,  of  this  county,  a  faithful  Methodist,  died 
in  his  eighty-third  year ;  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 

*  General  Washington's  mother  was  a  Ball,  according  to  our  recol- 
lection. 


188  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1776-7. 

tionary  war.  There  were  Bowens,  Cooks,  Castlers,  Kowns, 
Keedings,  Moores,  Merchants,  and  Wheats.  Most  of  these 
passed  more  than  fourscore  years  on  earth,  and  were  long 
connected  with  the  Methodists.  Jonathan  Breckenridge 
lived  to  honor  Christ,  to  his  eighty-sixth  year. 

Mr.  T.  Davidson,  and  his  wife  Mrs.  Ann  Davidson,  who 
was  the  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  F.  Lewis,  who  was  the  sister 
of  General  Washington — these  honored  God  among  the 
Methodists.  Sister  Cross  entertained  the  gospel  preached 
in  her  house  for  many  years,  enjoyed  the  happiness  of 
religion  fifty-eight  years,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 
Leanna  Cummings  was  a  light  in  the  church  for  more  than 
sixty  years.  Blanch  Tanner  joined  in  1773,  and  died  happy, 
in  1828.  The  Pates,  Peters,  and  Seawells,  were  early 
Methodists.  There  were  Burrell,  Webster,  Fisher,  and  Dr. 
Bennett.  In  Alexandria,  Benjamin  Watters,  and  Dorothy 
his  wife  ;  also,  Mrs.  Margaret  Frye,  widow  of  the  Rev.  C. 
Frye  ;  these  all  died  in  the  "  Faith."  In  Pocahontas  county, 
the  Abrogarts,  who  were  converted  in  the  "old  revival" — 
these  are  all  gone  to  glory.  When  Mrs.  Abrogart  was 
dying,  she  said,  "  I  know  my  husband  is  in  heaven ;  and 
John  and  Betsey  (her  son  and  daughter)  are  there ;  and, 
oh !  what  a  happy  time  it  will  be,  if  I  get  there  before 
morning."  There  might  be  many  interesting  cases  of 
experience,  given  from  the  slave  population,  but  we  forbear 
at  present. 

The  above  array  of  names  presents  only  some  of  the  early 
prominent  Methodists,  where  the  preachers  put  up  and 
preached.  Many  of  them  were  preachers  of  the  gospel,  in 
their  day.  Besides  them,  there  were  thousands,  of  whose 
names  we  must  remain  ignorant. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Mr.  Siiadford,  after  spending  a  year  and  a  half  in  Vir- 
ginia, started  for  Maryland,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  and  was 
lost  in  the  woods,  where  the  snow  was  a  foot  deep ;  and,  as 
the  weather  was  very  cold,  he  knew  he  must  perish  if  he 
remained  there  all  night.  He  kneeled  down  there,  on  the 
snow,  and  prayed  to  God  to  direct  him.  He  arose,  believing 
he  would  be  directed ;  and  as  he  listened,  he  heard  a  dog 


1777.]  IN    AMERICA.  180 

bark,  at  a  distance,  and  following  the  sound,  he  found  a 
plantation  and  house,  where  he  was  sheltered,  and  pro- 
bably saved  from  death. 

In  the  latter  end  of  this  Conference  year,  Mr.  Asbury 
was  preaching  in  and  around  Annapolis.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  commencement  of  Methodism  in  Anne  Arun- 
dal  county.  Of  those  who  first  received  Methodism  in  this 
region,  we  may  name  Messrs.  Weems,  Childs,  Griffith,  Hen- 
cliss,  Bignell,  Gray,  Dorsey,  Ridgely,  Bennett,  Wood,  and 
Wilson. 

One  of  the  first  Methodists  in  Annapolis,  was  Mr.  Wilkins. 
This  family  afterwards  settled  in  Baltimore,  and  was  a  lead- 
ing family  among  the  Methodists  of  this  city.  In  the  region 
of  Annapolis,  was  the  Guest  family.  Richard,  and  Dorothy 
Guest,  his  wife,  were  of  the  first  race  of  Methodists,  and 
died  happy,  in  a  good  old  age.  The  Rev.  Job  Guest  was  of 
this  good  stock.  The  Watkins  family  was  an  important 
family  in  after  years.  In  this  section,  were  Simmonds  and 
Williams. 

In  Annapolis,  as  in  Norfolk,  the  play-house  was  the 
preaching-house.  At  that  time,  there  was  much  avowed 
infidelity  in  the  Bible,  in  the  capital  of  Maryland,  and  very 
few  believed  in  inward  religion.  While  preaching  in  Annapo- 
lis, the  Assembly  was  in  session,  and  a  gentleman  invited 
Mr.  Asbury  to  Worcester  county,  to  preach.  About  four  years 
after  this,  the  Methodists  found  their  way  into  this  county, 
and  raised  up  societies. 

The  war  spirit  had  wrought  the  enemies  of  Methodism 
into  a  rage.  Mr.  Asbury  had  been  fined  £5,  near  Balti- 
more, for  preaching.  On  another  occasion,  not  far  from 
Annapolis,  his  chaise  was  shot  through,  but  the  Lord  pre- 
served his  person.  It  seems  that  Mr.  Asbury  was  endeavor- 
ing to  form  a  new  circuit  around  Annapolis,  and  although 
there  were  some  societies  raised  up  about  this  time,  it  was 
several  years  after,  when  Annapolis  Circuit  first  appeared 
in  the  Minutes. 

In  the  course  of  this  year,  a  very  wicked  man,  that  lived 
at  Deer  Creek,  in  Maryland,  was  summoned  into  eternity, 
in  way  that  led  religious  people  to  interpret  the  event  as  a 
judgment  of  God.  His  sin  was  cursing  the  Holy  Spirit, 
when  he  was  instantly  struck  dead.  God  is  not  an  indif- 
ferent observer  of  the  conduct  of  mankind,  though  most 
men  act  as  if  they  believed  Him  to  be  such.  The  great 
reformation  that  had  been  in  this  region,  had  left  some 
obdurate  sinners  unconverted.     The  history  of  Christianity 


190  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1777. 

shows,  that  the  more  powerfully  God  works,  the  more  does 
Satan  rage  ;  and  the  more  zealous  Christians  are  in  holiness, 
the  further  will  hardened  sinners  run  into  sin,  until,  as  in 
the  case  above,  they  are  suddenly  destroyed. 

As  1776  was  the  year  in  which  the  Colonies  declared 
themselves  "  Free  and  Independent  States ;"  and  as  Xew 
York  and  New  Jersey  were  the  chief  battle-grounds  this 
year,  Methodism  was  on  the  decline  here ;  also  in  Pennsyl- 
vania the  martial  spirit  of  the  times  was  blighting  to  its 
prosperity.  In  Maryland  there  was  some  increase,  particu- 
larly in  Kent  Circuit,  which  returned  to  the  following  Con- 
ference seven  hundred  and  twenty  members  in  society.  But 
the  Methodists  had  their  greatest  success  this  year  in 
Virginia,  and  in  North  Carolina.  While  it  was  prospering 
in  Virginia,  south  of  James  River,  it  was  taking  root  in 
New  Virginia,  west  of  the  Blue  Bidge,  in  Jefferson  and 
Berkley  counties.  The  increase  in  the  last-named  two  states 
was  about  fifteen  hundred ;  and  the  increase  throughout  the 
entire  field  of  operation  was  nearly  eighteen  hundred.  The 
whole  number  of  Methodists  reported  at  the  following  Con- 
ference was  nearly  seven  thousand ; — and  they  were  found 
from  New  York  to  North  Carolina. 

The  Fifth  Conference  was  held  in  May,  1777,  in  a  preach- 
ing house  of  Mr.  John  Watters's,  near  Deer  Creek,  in 
Harford  county,  Maryland.  Two  new  circuits — Sussex  and 
Amelia,  both  taken  off  from  Brunswick,  in  Virginia,  are 
found  in  the  Minutes.  Norfolk  and  Chester,  that  were  left 
out  the  last  year,  were  restored.  As  New  York  was  in  the 
hands  of  British  soldiers,  no  preacher  was  stationed  there. 
At  this  time  there  were  fifteen  circuits,  and  thirty-six  travel- 
ling preachers,  including  Mr.  Asbury,  whose  name  does  not 
appear  in  the  stations.  As  it  was  probable  that  all  the 
English  preachers  would  return  home  on  account  of  the  w^ar, 
it  was  judged  most  prudent  to  appoint  a  committee  of  five 
of  the  most  judicious  of  the  preachers  that  would  remain  to 
superintend  the  work.  Messrs.  Wm.  "Watters,  Philip  Gatch, 
Daniel  Ruff,  Edward  Drumgole,  and  William  Glendenning, 
were  the  committee.  The  Conference  ended  with  a  love-feast 
and  watch-night.  When  the  preachers  and  people  parted, 
it  was  a  scene  of  surpassing  tenderness.  Many  were  in 
deep  distress,  and  wept  as  if  they  had  lost  their  firstborn, 
expecting  to  see  the  English  preachers  no  more.  Messrs. 
Asbury  and  Shadford  w^ere  peculiarly  dear  to  the  people. 

Mr.  Watters  went  from  this  Conference  to  Brunswick  Cir- 
cuit, Va.,  having  for  his  colleagues  Freeborn  Garrettson,  and 


1777.]  IN    AMERICA.  191 

John  Tunnell — two  excellent  men.  Within  the  bounds  of 
this  circuit,  Messrs.  Jarrett  and  M'Roberts  had  their 
parishes.  They  were  the  first  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
England  that  Mr.  Watters  heard  preach  Christian  expe- 
rience. He  had  long  desired  to  find  some  that  enjoyed  the 
great  salvation.  It  was  in  Brunswick  Circuit  he  first  met 
with  Methodists  whose  experience  was  in  advance  of  his  own, 
or  of  any  he  had  known  before  ;  and  who,  he  believed, 
enjoyed  the  blessing  of  sanctification.  In  the  fall  of  this 
year  he  visited  Pittsylvania  Circuit ;  and  in  January,  1778, 
went  into  Sussex  Circuit,  where  he  found  many  that  he 
esteemed  as  the  excellent  of  the  earth.  In  this  circuit  he 
saw  the  most  glorious  work  among  professors  of  religion  that 
he  had  ever  seen.  Scores  professed  sanctification  ;  and  the 
work  was  so  deepened  in  his  own  soul,  that  he  was  ready  to 
believe  that  he  was  saved  from  all  sin.  After  spending  a 
quarter  in  this  circuit  among  as  devoted  a  people  as  he  had 
ever  seen,  he  went  to  the  Conference.  Philip  Gatch,  and 
HoUis  Hanson,  were  appointed  to  Sussex  Circuit,  Va.,  in 
1777. 

"  At  this  Conference  I  received  an  appointment  to  Sussex 
Circuit,  in  Virginia.  The  young  man  who  was  appointed  to 
the  same  circuit,  failed  to  serve,  but  his  place  was  supplied. 
This  was  a  pleasant  circuit,  and  it  contained  many  promising 
societies,  and  the  prospects  were  encouraging.  But  I  re- 
mained unable  to  do  efi"ective  service.  Sometimes  I  was 
unable  to  do  any  work  at  all,  and  while  on  the  circuit  I 
never  preached  an  entire  week  without  being  exhausted.  In 
consequence  of  my  inability  to  serve  the  people,  a  third 
preacher  was  sent  to  our  aid.  The  forbearance  and  kindness 
of  the  friends  to  me,  were  all  that  I  could  desire.  When 
from  the  critical  state  of  my  health  they  thought  it  unsafe 
for  me  to  travel  alone,  they  sent  a  person  to  accompany  me 
from  one  appointment  to  another. 

"  One  Sabbath  morning,  while  on  my  way  to  my  appoint- 
ment, accompanied  by  Frederick  Boner,  late  of  Green  county, 
then  a  youth  of  about  eighteen  years,  I  was  met  by  two  men, 
of  whom  I  had  no  knowledge,  of  a  stout  and  rough  appear- 
ance. They  caught  hold  of  my  arms,  and  turned  them  in 
opposite  directions  with  such  violence  that  I  thought  my 
shoulders  would  be  dislocated  ;  and  it  caused  the  severest 
pain  I  ever  felt.  The  torture,  I  concluded,  must  resemble 
that  of  the  rack.  My  shoulders  were  so  bruised  that  they 
turned  black,  and  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  I  re- 
covered the  use  of  them.      My  lungs  remained  seriously 


192  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1,777. 

affected,  and  my  system  was  so  debilitated  that  my  prospect 
for  serving  the  church  as  formerly  failed.  I  thought  I  must 
of  necessity  retire  from  the  work.  This  to  me  was  a  gloomy 
reflection,  and  my  mind  became  much  dejected.  I  remained 
on  the  circuit  till  fall,  when  the  preachers  met  to  exchange 
appointments.  Hanover,  that  formerly  lay  on  both  sides  of 
James  river,  had  been  so  altered  as  to  leave  it  only  on  the 
north  side.  It  was  again  divided  so  as  to  make  it  a  four 
weeks'  circuit,  which  cut  off  a  part  of  the  north.  It  was 
agreed  in  council  that  I  should  take  a  young  man  and  go  to 
the  part  cut  off,  and  try  to  form  a  new  circuit,  laboring  only 
as  my  strength  would  permit.  After  making  a  visit  to  my 
friends  in  Maryland,  I  returned  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
assigned  me.  We  enlarged  our  border,  doors  were  freely 
opened,  many  received  the  gospel  in  the  love  of  its  benefits, 
and  by  Conference  we  had  formed  a  four  weeks'  circuit." 
"Sketch  of  Rev.  Philip  Gatch,"  p.  54-6. 

From  the  Deer  Creek  Conference,  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrett- 
son  went  to  Brunswick,  He  travelled  several  days  between 
Fairfax  Circuit  and  his  appointment  without  seeing  any 
Methodists.  For  at  that  time  this  part  of  Virginia  was  not 
occupied  by  them.  At  one  of  his  first  appointments  an 
officer  threatened  to  stop  him.  He  was,  however,  suffered 
to  proceed  in  his  work,  and  the  Lord  was  with  him.  At 
another  appointment  he  saw  an  instance  of  the  grace  of  God 
in  a  colored  boy  that  exceeded  all  the  youths  he  had  ever 
seen  for  a  gift  and  power  in  prayer.  In  another  place  the 
people  endeavored  to  buy  him  with  their  kindness ;  they 
tempted  him  with  houses  and  lands,  in  order  to  retain  him 
among  them ;  but  he  preferred  wandering  up  and  down  the 
earth,  endeavoring  to  do  good. 

A  number  of  the  rulers  in  a  certain  neighborhood,  agreed 
to  put  him  in  jail  when  he  should  come  among  them  again. 
But  before  he  came  around  to  that  place,  several  of  them 
had  been  called  into  eternity,  and  one  of  them  was  at  the 
point  of  death.  The  few  that  had  health,  had  no  courage  to 
lay  violent  hands  upon  him. 

In  September  of  this  year  he  went  into  North  Carolina, 
and  preached  there  the  remainder  of  the  year.  While 
laboring  here,  a  very  wicked  man  came  into  the  house  where 
he  was  preaching,  swelling  with  rage,  and  threatening  to 
haul  him  down  and  beat  him  ;  but,  before  the  sermon  was 
ended,  conviction  seized  him,  and  before  he  left  the  house 
professed  to  be  justified.  On  another  occasion  while  engaged 
in  family  prayer,  the  brother  of  the  man  at  whose  house" he 


1777.]  IN   AMERICA.  193 

was,  and  who  was  a  violent  persecutor,  ran  into  the  house 
and  pointed  a  loaded  gun  at  Mr.  Garrettson,  but  had  not 
power  to  pull  the  trigger ;  but,  a  few  days  after,  he  shot  his 
brother,  because  he  entertained  the  Methodist  preachers,  and 
slightly  wounded  his  body.  While  he  labored  on  this  circuit, 
there  was  a  glorious  gathering  of  souls  to  Christ,  which  was 
cause  of  daily  rejoicing  to  him  while  travelling  through  the 
forests  of  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  Asbury  spent  the  year,  until  December,  around  Balti- 
more and  Annapolis,  preaching  as  he  had  opportunity,  and 
attending  quarterly  meetings.  In  August  of  this  year,  he 
was  informed  that  he  was  chosen  to  preach  in  the  Garrettson 
Church  in  Harford  county.  The  original  church,  it  seems, 
was  built  by  an  ancestor  of  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson, 
and  was  the  first  church  built  in  Maryland  about  A.  D.  1600. 
Mr.  Asbury  did  not  accept  this  call ;  he  would  not  leave  the 
Methodists. 

In  this  year  Mr.  Asbury  was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Shad- 
rach  Turner,  near  Bladensburg,  and  received  the  following 
strange  account :  "  A  person  came  in  the  form  of  a  man  to 
the  house  of  another  in  the  night.  The  man  of  the  house 
asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He  replied,  '  This  will  be  the 
bloodiest  year  that  ever  was  known.'  The  other  asked  him 
how  he  knew  that.  He  answered,  '  It  is  as  true  as  that  your 
wife  is  now  dead  in  her  bed.'  The  man  of  the  house  went 
back,  and  to  his  great  surprise  found  his  wife  dead,  and  the 
stranger  disappeared." 

Several  of  the  Turners  were  among  the  first  Methodists 
of  this  region ;  Samuel  and  Susanna  Turner  went  to  rest  in 
1829,  after  more  than  fifty  years  spent  in  religion. 

In  1777,  Mr.  Rodda  was  appointed  to  Kent  Circuit,  East- 
ern Shore  of  Maryland.  Here  he  very  imprudently  circu- 
lated King  George's  proclamation,  which  so  exasperated  the 
friends  of  American  liberty  against  him,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  his  circuit,  and,  with  the  aid  of  some  slaves,  was 
carried  to  the  British  fleet,  then  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 
was,  by  the  English,  sent  to  Philadelphia,  from  thence  to 
England,  where  he  continued  to  labor,  in  connection  with 
Mr.  Wesley,  until  1781,  when  he  retired  from  the  work. 

Mr.  Rodda's  conduct  was  highly  imprudent,  and  caused 
trouble  and  suffering  to  his  brethren,  both  preachers  and 
people,  that  stayed  in  this  country.  It  was,  no  doubt,  in 
part,  the  cause  of  the  arrest  and  abduction  of  Judge  White, 
by  the  light-horse  patrol;  and  of  the  ill  treatment  of  Messrs. 
Hartley  and  Garrettson,  the  following  year,  in  Queen  Anne's 


194  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1777. 

county;  also  the  cause  of  Mr.  Littlejohn,  who  was  an  Eng- 
lishman, leaving  Kent  Circuit  in  1778,  and  retiring  into 
local  life.  John  Littlejohn  was  one  of  the  most  promising 
men  that  entered  into  the  Methodist  itinerancy  in  this 
country,  in  the  last  century ;  he  was  a  second  John  Dickens, 
and,  perhaps,  greatly  his  superior  in  pulpit  eloquence.  But, 
aside  from  this  rash  act  of  Mr.  Rodda,  we  have  never  heard 
anything  alleged  against  him  while  he  labored  in  America. 

On  the  last  evening  of  this  year,  some  of  the  officers  of 
Howe's  army  acted  a  play  in  i*^ew  York,  called  "  The  Devil 
to  Pay  in  the  West  Indies."  After  this  was  performed  they 
made  themselves  drunk,  and  went  reeling  and  yelling  through 
the  street.  Passing  by  Wesley  Chapel,  where  the  Methodists 
were  holding  watch-meeting,  they  went  in.  The  officer  that 
personated  the  devil,  had  a  cow's  hide  fastened  to  his  shoulders, 
the  horns  painted  red,  while  the  tail  dragged  on  the  floor ; 
he  went  up  and  stood  alongside  of  the  preacher  (this  was 
about  the  time  when  Messrs.  Rankin,  Rodda,  and  other 
European  preachers  were  in  New  York,  on  their  way  to 
England)  on  the  pulpit  steps.  The  preacher  stopped  preach- 
ing, and  the  women  screamed.  In  the  midst  of  this  uproar 
two  doughty  champions  of  Methodism  laid  hold  of  the  devil 
— walked  him  out  of  the  house ;  and  if  they  did  not  bind 
him  for  a  thousand  years — they  put  him  under  arrest.  Gene- 
ral Howe  found  it  necessary  to  conciliate  the  Methodists  by 
setting  a  guard  to  protect  them,  and  to  keep  his  men  in  their 
proper  sphere  of  conduct. 

In  June,  1778,  Mr.  Rankin  met  his  friends  in  London, 
where  he  was  stationed  for  two  years.  After  laboring  a  few 
years  longer  effectively,  he  was,  in  1783,  made  a  supernu- 
merary for  London,  where  he  continued  to  serve  the  cause 
of  Methodism  according  to  his  strength,  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  He  was  one  of  the  company  that  surrounded  the  bed 
on  which  lay  the  dying  founder  of  Methodism,  and  was  thus 
peculiarly  favored  to  see  this  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  triumph  over  death,  and  enter  into  the  joy  of 
his  Lord.*     Of   all  men  whom  he  knew  and  loved,  none 

*  See  the  print  that  hangs  up  in  many  houses,  called  "  The  Death- 
bed of  Mr.  Wesley,"  in  which  Mr.  llankin  stands  near  the  dying  saint. 

The  Last  Witness  Gone. — Those  who  have  seen  the  large  engraving 
of  the  "Deatli-l3ed  of  Wesley,"  will  recollect  the  figure  of  the  little  boy 
who  stands  near  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  who,  at  the  time  the  picture 
was  engraved,  was  the  only  person  living  who  was  present  on  that 
solemn  occasion.  The  following  obituary  from  the  last  number  of  the 
London  Watchman  shows  that  he  too  has  now  passed  away : — 


1777.]  IN   AMERICA.  195 

shared  his  affections  in  the  same  degree  as  Mr.  Whitefield, 
who  was  greatly  instrumental  in  directing  him  to  Christ,  by 
faith  alone,  for  justification  ;  and  Mr.  Wesley,  who  had  been 
a  father  to  him  for  thirty  years — they  were  both  of  them 
now  gone  to  their  great  reward  ;  and  Mr.  Rankin  followed 
them  in  May,  1810.  Firmness  and  consistency  were  leading 
traits  in  his  character.  For  more  than  fifty  years  he  was  an 
ornament  of  Christianity.  In  his  last  days  he  was  greatly 
*'  clothed  with  humility."  One  of  his  last  requests  was,  "  Let 
my  name  be  written  in  the  dust."  AVell  satisfied  that  his 
"witness  was  in  heaven,  and  his  record  on  high,"  he  desired 
no  earthly  memorials. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


At  the  Deer  Creek  Conference,  there  were  fourteen  preach- 
ers received  on  trial.  The  name  of  Joseph  Rees,  who  as  a 
local  preacher  travelled  the  circuit  this  year,  also  appears. 
Of  the  fourteen,  two — Hollis  Hanson  and  Robert  Wooster — 
stopped  after  one  year.  Samuel  Strong  travelled  two  years. 
Edward  Pride,  probably  a  native  of  Amelia  county,  Virginia, 
continued  to  travel  for  four  years.  Edward  Bailey,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  a  useful  preacher,  who  bore  a  testimony  for  God 
to  the  last,  died  in  1780,  while  travelling  with  Mr.  Asbury 
in  Virginia.  The  other  nine — Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  William 
Gill,  John  Tunnell,  John  Littlejohn,  John  Dickens,  Lee  Roy 
Cole,  Reuben  Ellis,  Joseph  Cromwell,  and  Thomas  S.  Chew, 
continued  longer  in  the  work,  and  were  more  generally 
known. 

Mr.  Reuben  Ellis,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  was  one  of 
the  first  travelling  preachers  from  that  state.  He  also  was 
one  of  the  original  elders  of  the  Christmas  Conference  of 
1784.  For  nearly  twenty  years  he  travelled  and  preached 
in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia.     He  was   a  weighty  and  powerful 

Oct.  25th,  "  At  Chesterfield,  in  his  G8th  year,  -James  Roe  Rogers, 
retired  revenue  officer.  He  was  the  son  of  the  late  Rev.  James  and 
Hester  Ann  Rogers.  For  thirty-five  years  he  was  a  useful  and  con- 
sistent member  of  the  Methodist  connection.  He  was  present  with  his 
parents  at  the  death  of  the  late  venerable  John  Wesley,  and  was  the 
last  survivor  of  the  party  who  witnessed  that  impressive  scene." 


196  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1777. 

preacher,  and  many  appreciated  his  value  in  the  Church. 
His  godliness  made  him  contented  with  merely  food  and 
raiment.  His  last  station  was  in  Baltimore,  where,  in  1796, 
in  February,  he  died,  and  was  there  buried,  leaving  but  few 
behind  him  that  were,  in  every  respect,  his  equals. 

Mr.  Lee  Roy  Cole  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  born  in  1749. 
The  same  year  that  he  embraced  religion,  he  united  with 
the  Methodists  and  began  to  travel  a  circuit.  He  was  or- 
dained an  elder  soon  after  the  Church  was  organized.  In 
1785,  he  was  expelled ;  but  soon  after  was  restored  to  the 
travelling  connection — probably  from  a  conviction  that  he 
had  been  improperly  disowned.  He  served  the  Methodist 
Church  as  a  travelling  or  local  preacher  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  In  the  latter  end  of  his  life,  he  was  a  superannuated 
member  of  Kentucky  Conference.  He  triumphed  over  death 
in  1830,  in  his  eighty-first  year.     He  sleeps  in  Kentucky. 

Mr.  Thomas  S.  Chew.  We  have  already  noticed  his  im- 
prisonment in  Mr.  Down's  house,  which  added  this  family  to 
the  Methodists. 

We  find  him  in  the  Minutes  of  1785,  standing  as  an  elder 
for  West  Jersey ;  this  was  the  first  year  that  this  office  was 
known  in  the  M.  E.  Church.  He  stood  high  on  account  of 
rank  and  gifts.  His  last  appointment  was  on  the  Peninsula, 
where  he  was  acting  as  elder  over  a  district.  But,  alas  !  he 
met  with  a  Delila  a  few  miles  below  Milford,  in  Sussex 
county,  Del.,  at  Mr.  T.'s  house,  by  whom  he  fell.  He  pro- 
fessed restoration  to  the  Divine  favor ;  but  had  to  retire  from 
the  work.  He  was  entered,  as  desisting  from  travelling,  on 
the  Minutes  of  1788,  but  was  considered  as  expelled. 

Mr.  Joseph  Cromwell,  we  think,  was  a  native  of  Baltimore 
county,  raised  near  to  Baltimore.  We  have  supposed  that 
he  was  the  individual  that  Mr.  Shadford  was  sent  for  to  visit 
in  the  year  1774.  When  Mr.  Shadford  arrived,  he  found 
him  chained  in  bed ;  for  the  family  supposed  him  to  be  mad, 
or  possessed  of  the  devil.  Mr.  Shadford  told  him  of  the 
love  of  Christ,  in  dying  for  sinners ;  and  the  young  man 
laid  hold  of  the  name  of  Christ,  and  said  he  would  call  on  the 
name  of  the  Saviour  as  long  as  he  lived.  They  knocked  his 
chain  ofi*;  and  shortly  afterwards  the  Saviour  unchained 
him,  and  made  him  "  free  indeed." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Ware  says  of  him,  "  He  was  so  illiterate 
as  to  be  unable  to  write  his  own  name ;  and  yet  he  preached 
in  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  an  authority 
that  few  could  withstand.  By  his  labors,  thousands  of  all 
classes  and  conditions  in  society  had  been  brought  into  the 


1777.]  IN    AMERICA.  197 

fold,  and  were  walking  worthy  of  their  profession."  Con- 
cerning him,  Mr.  Asbury  remarked,  when  he  first  heard  him 
at  the  widow  Brady's,  in  Kent  county,  Del. :  "  He  is  an  ori- 
ginal indeed — no  man's  copy."  On  another  occasion,  he 
says,  "  He  is  the  only  man  I  have  heard  in  America,  with 
whose  speaking  I  am  never  tired.  I  always  admire  his  un- 
affected simplicity.  He  is  a  prodigy — a  man  that  cannot 
write  or  read  well ;  and  yet  his  words  go  through  me  every 
time  I  hear  him.  The  power  of  God  attends  him  more  or 
less  in  every  place.  He  seldom  opens  his  mouth  but  some 
are  cut  to  the  heart."  He  continued  thus  useful  for  about 
fifteen  years ;  and  it  would  be  well  if  his  last  days  had  been 
without  dark  shadows.  Like  the  great  Samuel  Bradburn,  of 
England,  he  was  daily  in  the  fire  of  temptation.  He  was  so 
extraord'nary  that  Mr.  Asbury  feared  he  would  not  stand, 
or  live  long.  In  1797,  he  stands  on  the  Minutes  as  expelled 
for  immoral  conduct ;  and  in  1804,  Mr.  Asbury  received 
from  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Jacobs  the  account  of  his  end.  "  He 
had  walked  backward,  according  to  his  own  account.  Three 
days  he  lost  in  drunkenness,  three  days  he  lay  sick  in  dark- 
ness— no  manifestation  of  God  to  his  soul ;  and  thus  he 
died  !     We  can  only  hope  that  God  had  mercy  on  his  soul !" 

While  we  admit  that  a  man  might  do  as  much,  and  even 
more  for  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  than  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Cromwell  did,  and  yet  be  lost  in  the  end ;  yet  we  strongly 
incline  to  the  persuasion  that  he  was  saved.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  had  any  enmity  to  God,  or  Christ,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit,  or  the  means  of  salvation,  which  constitutes 
the  great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  returning  to  God.  That  he 
had  "  no  manifestation  of  God  to  his  soul,"  seems  to  have 
been  cause  of  grief  to  him,  which  we  are  disposed  to  regard 
as  an  element  of  penitency ;  and  where  there  is  repentance, 
the  way  appears  to  be  open  for  the  exercise  of  Divine 
mercy. 

Mr.  John  Dickins  was  born  and  educated  in  London.  He 
joined  the  Methodist  society  in  America  in  1774 ;  and  in 
1777  was  received  as  a  travelling  preacher.  He  labored  in 
Virginia  and  in  North  Carolina  until  1782,  when  he  desisted. 
It  appears  that  Mr.  Asbury  first  became  personally  ac- 
quainted with  him  in  North  Carolina  in  1780,  when  he  drew 
the  subscription  for  a  Kingswood  school  in  America.  This 
came  out  in  the  end  Cokesbury  College.  In  1783,  Mr.  Asbury 
prevailed  with  him  to  go  to  New  York,  where  he  labored  for 
several  years  ;  and  in  1789  he  was  stationed  in  Philadelphia, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death.  While  here  he  superin- 
17* 


198  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1777. 

tended  the  book  business  for  the  Methodists,  as  book  steward. 
For  this  business  he  was  well  qualified  by  his  sound  literature ; 
being  master  of  the  English  language,  and  also  acquainted 
with  Latin  and  Greek.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  best 
men  of  that  age,  and  a  very  profitable  preacher.  As  it  was 
said  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  "He  preached  like  a  lion."  Having 
passed  through  the  malignant  fever  of  1793  and  1797,  he 
fell  in  the  third  visitation  of  the  yellow  fever  in  1798,  in  his 
fifty-second  year.  His  daughter  Elizabeth  died  of  the  same 
disease  the  day  before  his  death.  They  were  interred  in  the 
cemetery  of  St.  George's,  in  Crown  street.  But  when  the 
ground  was  built  upon  some  years  since,  the  remains  of  many 
of  the  dead  were  put  in  a  large  vault  under  the  basement 
entry  of  St.  George's  Church ;  and  whatever  was  found  of 
the  mortal  part  of  this  good  man  and  his  daughter,  after 
dwelling  about  forty  years  in  the  narrow  house,  was  put  into 
this  vault,  while  his  head-stone,  with  its  inscription,  is  in  the 
burying-ground  of  this  church  in  Coates  street. 

Mr.  Dickins's  death  greatly  affected  Mr.  Asbury,  who  re- 
marked when  he  heard  it  at  Mr.  Sterling's,  in  Burlington, 
"  He  was  in  person  and  affection  another  Thomas  White  to 
me  for  years  past :  I  feared  death  would  divide  us  soon." 

Mr.  Dickins  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Yancey,  near  Halifax, 
North  Carolina.  She  was  in  every  respect  a  helpmeet  for 
him.  She  survived  him  until  1835,  when  she  ended  her  days  in 
Baltimore,  at  the  house  of  her  son-in-law,  Dr.  Samuel  Baker, 
who  thus  describes  her  meetness  for  heaven : — 

"  With  lamp  well  trimmed  and  burning  bright, 

And  loins  begirt  around, 
In  -waiting  posture  long  she  stood, 

To  hear  the  welcome  sound. 
Born  from  above,  and  thither  bent. 

And  longing  for  the  skies, 
How  sweet  the  voice  that  charmed  her  ear, 

And  softly  said,  *  Arise  !'  " 

She  had  been  a  Methodist  for  more  than  fifty  years,  and 
was  past  seventy  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

Mr.  John  Littlejohn  was  born  in  Penrith,  Cumberland 
county,  England,  in  1756.  When  young  he  was  sent  to  a 
classical  school  for  a  while.  His  parents  brought  him  to  this 
country  about  1767,  and  settled  in  Maryland,  but  soon 
removed  to  Virginia.  In  1772,  Mr.  Littlejohn's  acquaintance 
began  with  the  Methodists  in  Norfolk.  In  1773  he  removed 
to  Alexandria,  on  the  Potomac,  where,  under  the  ministry 
of  Mr.  John  King,  he  was  fully  awakened ;  and  under  the 


1777.]  IN    AMERICA.  199 

preaching  and  advice  of  Mr.  John  Sigman,  he  sought  for 
peace  until  he  was  able  to  say  by  faith,  "  My  Lord  and  my 
God."  In  1774  he  was  one  of  the  twelve  persons  that 
formed  the  original  Methodist  society  in  Alexandria,  of 
which  he  was  soon  made  leader.  Shortly  after  he  began  to 
exhort,  and  in  1775  began  to  preach.  In  1776  he  com- 
menced travelling  with  Mr.  William  Watters  in  Berkley.  In 
1777  he  was  received  on  trial,  and  stationed  on  Baltimore 
Circuit.  In  1778  he  was  sent  to  Kent,  but  on  account  of 
the  persecution  against  the  preachers,  and  especially  against 
the  English,  he  felt  it  to  be  right  for  him  to  retire  from  the 
work.  In  autumn  of  this  year  he  married,  and  settled 
in  Leesburg,  Va.,  where  he  remained,  filling  various  offices 
of  civil  and  religious  society  until  1818,  when  he  removed 
to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  finally  to  Logan  county,  in  that  state. 
In  1831  the  Baltimore  Conference  readmitted  him,  and  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Kentucky  Conference  as  a  superannu- 
ated preacher.  His  mental  energies  and  moral  resources, 
and  especially  his  great  eloquence  as  a  public  speaker,  gave 
him  an  eminence  in  the  pulpit  above  most  of  his  brethren. 
Had  he  continued  in  the  itinerancy,  his  talents  fitted  him 
for  any  station  in  the  Church.  As  it  was,  he  was  compara- 
tively unknown  to  thousands  of  Methodists.  After  a  Chris- 
tian life  of  sixty  years  of  exemplary  usefulness  in  his  sphere, 
he  died,  triumphantly,  in  1836,  in  his  eightieth  year. 

Mr.  William  Gill  was  a  native  of  Delaware  state.  There 
was  a  William  Gill  that  subscribed  £1  10s.  in  1769  towards 
the  rebuilding  of  Drawyers  (Presbyterian)  Church.  If  we 
were  sure  that  it  was  the  same  man,  we  should  fix  his  nativity 
near  Cantwell's  Bridge.  It  seems  that  he  was  the  first 
travelling  preacher  that  Delaware  furnished.  He  was  a  man 
of  weak  body  but  strong  mind,  well  stored  with  science  for 
that  day.  By  trade  he  was  a  tailor.  On  a  certain  occasion 
he  lay  sick  at  Mr.  Manley's  in  Philadelphia ;  on  which  occa- 
sion he  was  attended  by  the  worthy  Dr.  Rush.  The  doctor 
became  very  favorably  impressed,  not  only  with  the  piety 
but  also  with  the  strong  and  well  cultivated  mind  of  his 
patient,  which  led  him  afterwards  to  defend  Methodist 
preachers  against  the  charge  of  ignorance,  that  was  so  gene- 
rally brought  against  them  at  that  time.  Being  in  company 
with  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  were  uttering  their  philippics 
against  the  reputed  enthusiasm  of  the  Methodists,  and  the 
ignorance  of  their  teachers,  preaching  without  a  regular 
education ;  the  doctor  replied  with  this  parody,  "  I  say  unto 


200  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1777. 

you,  gentlemen,  that  except  ye  be  converted,  and  become 
even  as  a  tailor,  ye  shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  science." 

In  the  winter  of  1785  he  was  preaching  in  Annapolis, 
when  a  barber  came  to  mock  him,  and  stood  up  to  imitate 
him  in  preaching,  and,  among  other  things,  said  his  sins  were 
forgiven — he  soon  sickened  and  made  a  sudden  exit  into 
eternity  to  meet  an  insulted  judge.  Mr.  Gill  was  ordained 
an  elder  when  the  church  was  organized,  standing  among 
the  foremost.  His  last  appointment  was  to  Kent  Circuit  in 
1788,  where  he  sickened,  and  after  delivering  a  full  testi- 
mony for  his  Saviour,  with  his  own  fingers  closed  his  eyes  in 
death,  proclaiming,  "All  is  well."  He  was  interred  at  the 
oldest  Methodist  chapel  on  the  Peninsula  in  Kent  county, 
Md. 

The  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  says,  "  From  the  long  acquaintance  I 
had  with  Mr.  Gill,  I  am  led  to  conclude  that  we  had  scarcely 
a  preacher  left  to  equal  him  in  either  knowledge  or  goodness. 
Indeed,  I  knew  no  one  who  had  such  a  depth  of  knowledge, 
both  of  men  and  things,  as  he  possessed.  Both  his  conver- 
sation and  preaching  were  entertaining,  and  with  much 
wisdom." 

Mr.  John  Tunnell  was  received  on  trial  this  year.  There 
are  Tunnells  in  Delaware,  but  we  cannot  say  that  he  was 
related  to  them.  He  was  a  truly  Apostolic  man ;  his  hea- 
venly-mindedness  seemed  to  shine  out  in  his  face,  which 
made  him  appear  to  some  more  like  an  inhabitant  of  heaven 
than  of  earth.  Hence  the  occurrence  related  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Ware,  of  one  who  accidentally  heard  him  preaching, 
and  took  him  to  be  a  messenger  from  heaven  describing  its 
realities.  When  the  church  was  constituted  in  1784  he  was 
also  one  of  the  original  elders.  He  was  not  at  the  Christmas 
Conference.  During  this  year  he  had  gone  to  the  Island  of 
St.  Christopher,  in  the  West  Indies,  for  his  health.  On  this 
island  he  was  offered  a  horse,  room,  and  a  slave  to  wait  upon 
him,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  year,  in  money,  if 
he  would  remain  and  preach  for  them.  He  returned,  and 
was  ordained  soon  after  the  church  was  organized.  Mr.  Lee 
says,  "His  gifts,  as  a  preacher,  were  great."  He  travelled 
extensively  through  the  states,  and  was  deservedly  esteemed 
by  preachers  and  people.  After  thirteen  years'  labor  in  the 
ministry,  his  slender  constitution  yielded  to  the  slow  but 
sure  advances  of  consumption,  at  the  Sweet  Springs,  in  July, 
1790.  His  funeral  was  preached  by  Mr.  Asbury  at  Dew's 
Chapel,  where  his  remains  were  interred  among  the  moun- 
tains of  Virginia.     It  was  the  opinion  of  one  who  knew 


177Y.]  IN    AMERICA.  201 

them,  that  few  purer  spirits  ever  dwelt  in  mortal  bodies 
than  those  of  Gill  and  Tunnell. 

Caleb  B.  Pedicord  was  a  native  of  the  Western  Shore  of 
Maryland.  The  Petticords  or  Pedicords,  for  the  name  is 
written  two  or  three  ways,  were  in  Frederick  county,  Md., 
where  Mr.  Strawbridge  opened  his  mission  in  America  as 
early  as  1760.  The  Rev.  William  Burke,  in  his  Autobio- 
graphy, says,  "  While  on  Limestone  Circuit,  Kentucky, 
Fleming  county,  he  had  a  great  meeting  at  Union  Chapel, 
near  Germantown.  The  first  fruits  of  the  meeting  was  the 
conversion  of  Brother  Petticord's  daughter.  Brother  Petti- 
cord  was  one  of  the  first  race  of  Methodists  from  Frederick 
county,  Md. ;  and  a  relative  of  Caleb  B.  Petticord,  who  was 
admitted  as  a  travelling  preacher  in  1777."  "J.  B.  Finley's 
Sketches,"  p.  83. 

Those  who  have  seen  Mr.  Pedicord  have  testified  to  the 
beauty  of  his  person,  and  this  casket  contained  a  jewel  of 
the  finest  polish.  His  first  appointment  was  to  Frederick 
Circuit. 

We  also  find,  stationed  in  New  Jersey  for  this  year, 
Henry  Kennedy,  who  continued  in  the  work,  as  a  useful 
preacher,  for  a  few  years.  In  1780,  Mr.  Asbury  informs 
us,  he  died. 

Never  before  had  such  a  class  of  strong  men,  such  talented 
and  useful  preachers,  entered  into  the  itinerancy,  to  labor  in 
the  American  field  of  Methodism.  Reuben  Ellis  was  a 
"weighty  and  powerful  preacher."  Lee  Roy  Cole  lived 
long,  preached  much,  and  did  much  good.  Thomas  S.  Chew 
was  very  popular  as  a  preacher.  Joseph  Cromwell  was  a 
mystic  giant.  John  Dickens  was,  in  literature,  logic,  zeal, 
and  devotion,  a  Paul  among  the  preachers.  John  Littlejohn 
was  but  little  his  inferior.  William  Gill  was  pre-eminently 
astute  and  philosophic.  John  Tunnell  was  an  ApoUos  ;  and 
Caleb  B.  Pedicord  was  everything  that  could  be  desired  in  a 
Methodist  preacher. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


Kent  Circuit  was  greatly  enlarged  in  1777.  Joseph 
Cromwell,  under  whose  pungent  preaching  many  were  awak- 
ened and  brought  in  among  the  Methodists,  was  one  of  the 
four  sent  to  this  circuit  this  year.    It  was  in  this  year,  if  not 


202  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1777. 

the  previous  one,  that  Methodism  entered  Talbot  county. 
Wye,  St.  Michael's,  and  the  Bayside,  seem  to  be  the  oldest 
stands  in  the  county.  About  the  same  time  several  appoint- 
ments were  made  in  Kent  county,  Del. ;  one  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Thomas's  Chapel;  another  at  Mr.  Richard  Shaws, 
who  lived  south-west  of  Dover. 

It  was  in  the  year  1777,  that  Dr.  Edward  White,  who 
lived  in  Kent  county,  Del.,  near  Whiteleysburg,  began  to  fol- 
low the  Methodists,  and  invited  the  preachers  to  his  house  to 
preach.  Soon  after,  his  uncle,  Mr.  Thomas  White,  enter- 
tained them. 

There  was  another  appointment  at  Mr.  James  Layton's 
(who  became  a  local  preacher),  in  Marshyhope ;  there  was 
preaching,  and  a  society  was  formed  this  year  (1777),  which 
is  still  represented  at  Hardisty's  meeting-house.  Another 
appointment  was  made  at  the  widow  Jump's,  who  lived  in 
sight  of  the  present  Todd's  Chapel,  where  the  meeting  is 
still  continued  that  was  begun  at  her  house.  Of  the  same 
date  was  the  appointment  at  Friend  Reynear  Williams's,  who 
lived  in  Mispillion,  a  little  below  the  present  town  of  Milford. 

In  1777,  at  least  three  appointments  for  preaching  were 
made  in  Sussex  county,  Del.  One  of  these  was  in  North 
West  Fork,  at  Charles  Twyford's,  who  lived  near  by  the  pre- 
sent Trinity  Church  (namesake  of  Trinity,  in  Eighth  by 
Race,  in  Philadelphia),  on  Seaford  Circuit.  Mr.  Twyford 
became  a  local  preacher,  and,  as  a  good  man,  the  people  had 
unbounded  confidence  in  him.  The  society  that  was  raised 
up  at  Mr.  Twyford's,  became  extinct  at  his  death;  and,  after 
the  lapse  of  an  age,  another  society  sprung  up  as  from  the 
dormant  seed  of  the  old  one,  and  Trinity  Church  was  built 
on  the  spot  of  the  old  meeting  of  1777. 
^  Near  the  town  of  Bridgeville,  at  the  house  of  Robert  Lay- 
ton  (the  maternal  grandfather  of  the  writer),  another  appoint- 
ment was  made  this  year. 

In  1777,  an  appointment  was  made  on  Cedar  Creek,  at  the 
house  of  an  old  Presbyterian,  the  initials  of  whose  name 
were  J.  K.  There  were  Kanes  and  Killingsworths  in  that 
region  ;  but  whether  it  was  either  or  neither  of  these  names, 
we  may  not  affirm.  In  one  respect,  he  was  somewhat  singu- 
lar— in  keeping  his  coffin  ready  made  in  his  house.*     At  his 

*  J.  K.,  the  old  Presbyterian  friend  who  allowed  the  Methodists  to 
preach  in  his  house  at  Cedar  Creek,  in  Sussex  county,  Del.,  and  to  raise 
a  Methodist  society,  which  was  the  germ  of  the  Slaughter  Neck  Metho- 
dist meeting,  where  the  Shockleys  and  Ilickmans — names  honorably 
connected  with  Methodism — as,  also,  others,  was  not  the  only  one  we 


1777.]  IN   AMERICA.  203 

house  there  was  a  class.  This  meeting  was  removed  to  Mr. 
Shockley's,  in  Slaughter  Neck. 

Such  were  the  metes  and  bounds  of  Kent  Circuit,  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  Conference  year  of  1777.  Its  beginning 
was  at  Elk  River,  in  Cecil  county,  and  its  lower  extremity, 
at  Cedar  Creek,  and  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Nanticoke, 
near  Bridgeville,  in  Sussex  county ;  up  to  this  time  there  was 
but  one  circuit  on  the  Peninsula. 

Mr.  Shadford  was  preaching  on  the  Western  shore  of 
Maryland,  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1777,  and  ended 
his  labors  in  America,  spending  his  last  winter  on  the  East- 
ern Shore,  in  Kent  Circuit.  Here  he,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Asbury,  held  quarterly  meeting  at  Mr.  White's,  which  was 
the  last  meeting  they  were  at  together. 

This  was  the  most  trying  time,  in  regard  to  the  preachers, 
that  ever  was  in  America :  a  time  when  both  the  preachers 
and  their  friends,  in  certain  quarters,  had  to  keep  a  look- 
out  by   day   and   by  night,  that   they   might   not  fall   into 

ever  heard  of  who  kept  his  coffin  by  him.  We  have  heard  of  one  or 
two  others  who  did  the  same  thing.  One  who  went  to  the  "Western 
country,  carrying  his  coffin  with  him  ;  and,  not  liking  the  country, 
returned,  bringing  back  with  him  the  "  narrow  house."  Another, 
whose  name  was  Adams,  who  was  a  very  pious  man,  living  above  the 
fear  of  death,  who  kept  his  coffin  under  the  bed  he  slept  in,  making  it 
a  repository  for  such  articles  as  were  proper  to  be  kept  in  it  until  his 
body  occupied  it.  The  inquii-y  might  be  made,  whether,  if  it  were  a 
more  general  practice  for  the  living  to  keep  the  house  that  the  body  ia 
to  be  the  tenant  of  when  the  soul  becomes  an  inhabitant  of  the  spirit 
land,  in  their  bed-chambers,  the  moral  tendency  would  not  be  good? 
The  effect,  we  might  suppose,  would  be  to  keep  death  in  view,  and  in- 
spire desires  for  a  preparation.  The  pulpit  makes  its  urgent  appeals  to 
death  to  induce  the  living  to  prepare.  The  coffin  would  appeal  to  the 
beholder  ;  and  there  might  be  fewer  persons  lying  down  on  their  beds 
before  they  bowed  in  prayer  to  Him  who  has  the  "  issues  of  death." 
We  heard  the  Rev.  Caleb  Morris  relate  that  the  Rev.  Lorenzo  Dow  was 
preaching  in  a  certain  town,  when  a  gentleman  slipped  five  dollars  into 
his  hand,  which  he  endeavored  to  return,  as  his  sentiment  was,  that 
"impostors  were  fond  of  money."  Failing  to  find  the  man  who  gave 
it  to  him,  he  went  out  early  next  morning  and  found  two  young  ladies 
sewing  by  candlelight,  he  stepped  in  and  bargained  with  them  to  make 
anything  that  he  might  order  to  be  made  out  of  muslin.  lie  laid  out 
half  of  the  five  dollars  in  muslin,  and  taking  it  to  the  young  ladies, 
requested  them  to  make  their  shrouds  out  of  it.  They  made  an  effort 
to  annul  the  contract,  but  he  told  them  it  was  a  covenant  to  which  God 
and  angels  were  witnesses  ;  and  throwing  down  the  balance  of  the  five 
dollars  as  pay,  made  his  exit.  To  them  it  was  solemn  work  to  cut  and 
sew  muslin  into  grave  clothes  for  themselves ;  they  could  not  but  be 
serious  while  accomplishing  this  job — and  it  resulted  in  their  conver- 
sion to  God  ;  and,  when  Mr.  Dow  returned  to  their  town,  they  gladly 
entertained  him  as  a  messenger  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


204  RISE  OF  METHODISM  [1777-8. 

the  hands  of  their  violent  enemies.  About  this  time, 
Messrs.  Asbury  and  Shadford  were,  for  a  short  time,  secreted 
among  the  Whites.  A  part  of  this  time  they  spent  in  an 
outhouse,  separated  by  a  skirt  of  wood  from  Judge  White's 
domicil.  When  Mr.  White  would  take  their  meals  to  them, 
in  a  stealthy  manner,  the  servants,  who  were  not  ignorant 
of  the  arrangement,  would  sometimes  say:  "  Massa  goes 
through  the  woods  to  feed  his  swamp-robins."  Dr.  Edward 
White,  in  like  manner,  sometimes  carried  their  meals  to  them. 
They  kept  a  fast  day,  to  know  the  will  of  the  Lord  concern- 
ing them  ;  and  while  Mr.  Asbury  believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
remain,  Mr.  Shadford  felt  that  he  must  return.  On  the  10th 
of  March,  1778,  h^  left  Judge  White's,  and  moved  towards 
Philadelphia,  on  his  way  to  England,  having  procured  a 
pass  from  a  colonel  to  travel  to  General  Smallwood's  camp. 
When  he  arrived,  he  was  brought  to  his  apartments,  and 
told  him  that  he  was  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  considered 
himself  a  subject  of  King  George  ;  and  asked  for  a  pass  to  go 
to  Philadelphia,  on  his  way  home.  The  general  roughly 
replied,  "  Now,  you  have  done  us  all  the  hurt  you  could,  you 
want  to  go  home."  Mr.  Shadford  replied,  ''  That  he  left 
home,  and  came  here  to  do  good."  He,  however,  gave  him 
a  pass,  after  he  made  him  swear  that  he  would  go  directly 
to  Philadelphia,  and  thence  to  England. 

As  he  was  proceeding  to  Philadelphia,  a  man  sprang  from 
behind  a  bush,  and,  pointing  a  loaded  gun  at  his  breast, 
swore  if  he  did  not  stop  and  dismount,  he  would  be  a  dead 
man ;  but,  learning  that  he  had  a  pass,  he  suffered  him  to  go  on 
his  way,  and  he  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  which  at  that  time 
was  in  possession  of  British  soldiers  ;  and,  on  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, sailed  for  England. 

Reaching  his  native  land,  he  continued  in  the  regular 
work  of  the  itinerancy  under  Mr.  Wesley,  until  infirmity 
arrested  him  in  his  course.  About  1791,  he  became  super- 
numerary. In  this  relation,  he  continued  to  the  end  of 
life.  His  last  words  were,  "I'll  praise,  I'll  praise,  I'll 
praise;"  and  soon  after  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  in  the  seventy- 
eighth  year  of  his  life,  and  forty-eighth  of  his  itinerancy. 

There  was  the  closest  union  between  Mr.  Shadford  and 
Mr.  Asbury,  while  they  labored  and  suffered  together  in 
America.  Their  souls  were  knit  together  more  closely,  if 
possible,  than  the  souls  of  David  and  Jonathan  ;  and,  after 
the  broad  Atlantic  had  separated  them  thirty-eight  years, 
their  triumphant  spirits  entered  paradise,  w^ithin  ten  days 
of  each  other.     Mr.  Shadford  lived  just  thirty-eight  years 


1778.]  IN    AMERICA.  205 

and  one  day,  after  he  left  Mr.  Asbury  at  Judge  White's ; 
and  died  March  11th,  1816  ;  and  Mr.  Asbury  followed  him, 
on  the  21st  of  the  same  month  and  year.  The  pious 
may  soliloquize  on  the  joy  their  happy  spirits  realized,  on 
meeting  each  other  so  near  the  same  time,  in  the  presence 
of  that  Saviour  whom  they  delighted  to  hold  up  to  the  view 
of  sinners,  while  ministering  here  below. 

As  Mr.  Asbury's  Journal  for  1778,  is  peculiarly  interest- 
ing to  us,  as  showing  the  places,  the  people,  and  the  circum- 
stances in  connection  with  the  introduction  of  Methodism  in 
the  centre  of  the  Peninsula,  during  the  most  trying  period 
of  the  war  that  gave  this  nation  its  independence,  we  wish  to 
make  some  short  extracts  from  it  for  this  year,  having  studied 
it  as  carefully  as  we  could,  and  as  it  relates  to  a  part  of  the 
country  with  which  w^e  have  been  acquainted  from  infancy. 
We  regret  that  Mr.  Asbury,  like  many  other  journalizers, 
gave  only  initials  for  names.  Some  of  them,  however,  we 
can  readily  understand,  as  the  names  of  the  people  they 
represent  have  been  familiar  to  us  as  pillars  in  the  temple 
of  Methodism  in  this  region  ;  others,  we  can  only  conjecture 
what  the  full  name  was,  represented  by  the  initials ;  and 
there  are  some  that  we  cannot  so  much  as  conjecture  what 
name  is  represented.  Mr.  Asbury  had  been  laboring  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia  during  1775-6-7.  On  the  1st  of 
December,  1777,  he  returned  to  the  Peninsula,  to  Cavel 
Hinson's,  in  Kent  county,  Md.  At  this  time  Kent  Circuit, 
had  appointments  in  Cecil,  Kent,  Queen  Anne's,  Caroline, 
and  Talbot,  in  Maryland,  and  Kent  and  Sussex,  in  Delaware. 

His  preaching,  up  to  the  1st  of  February,  1778,  was 
chiefly  in  Kent  and  Cecil  counties,  among  the  Thompsons, 
Herseys,  Watkins,  Simmons,  Hearns,  Woodlands,  Freder- 
icktown  ;  Howards,  Hinsons,  Easterly  Island,  Quaker  Neck, 
Randels,  Gibbs,  Kennards,  Anglers,  Smiths,  and  Chester- 
town.  Afterwards,  he  visited  Foggwell's,  Segar's,  Stradley's, 
Thomas's;  and  on  the  13th  of  February,  1778,  he  first 
visited  Thomas  V/hite,  Esq.,  who  became  one  of  his  most 
valuable  friends ;  here  he  met  with  his  beloved  brother, 
George  Shadford,  with  whom  he  took  sweet  counsel.  On 
Sunday,  16th  of  February,  he  first  preached  at  Dr.  Edward 
White's  ;  this  was  the  beginning  of  a  quarterly  meeting, 
which  was  held  in  Mr.  White's  barn,  and  was  well  attended. 

After  the   quarterly  meeting  was   over,  he   preached  at 
James  Lay  ton's,  in  Marshyhope,  where  a  class  was  formed 
already ;    also,  at   the    Widow   Jump's,   near   Marshyhope- 
18 


206  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1778. 

bridge,  at  Cardeen's,  and  at  Mr.  K.'s,  on  Cedar  Creek — an 
old  Presbyterian  who  kept  his  coffin  in  his  house. 

March  9th.  Samuel  Spragg  came  to  see  him  at  Judge 
White's.  Mr.  Shadford  was,  also  present.  Tuesday,  March 
10th,  1778,  Messrs.  Spragg  and  Shadford  left  him  at  Mr. 
White's ;  and  this  was  a  life-long  parting  with  Asbury  and 
Shadford.  About  this  time  Joseph  Everett  first  heard  Mr. 
Asbury  preach  at  Mr.  White's.  What  followed  will  be  seen 
in  another  part  of  this  work,  in  a  short  account  of  the  life 
and  labors  of  Mr.  Everett. 

While  here  among  the  Whites,  Philip  Cox  fell  in  his  way, 
and  he  sent  him  to  the  Upper  Circuit,  either  the  upper  part 
of  Kent  Circuit,  or  Chester  Circuit ;  also,  John  Cooper,  who 
had  been  preaching  below,  in  Sussex  county,  came  to  see 
him.  About  this  time  he  heard  that  Mr.  W.,  probably 
Robert  Wooster,  was  cast  into  prison,  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  for 
preaching  as  a  Methodist  preacher. 

April  2,  1778.  The  light-horse  patrol  came  to  Judge 
White's  in  the  night,  and  seized  and  carried  him  away, 
leaving  Mrs.  White  and  her  children  in  great  distress.  The 
following  day  Mr.  Asbury,  Mrs.  White,  and  others,  kept  as 
a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer^  for  Mr.  White,  and  his  deliver- 
ance from  his  enemies. 

April  6th.  Mr.  Asbury  left  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Whites,  where  he  had  been  partially  concealed,  and  went  to 
another  place  some  twenty  miles  off,  where  late  at  night  he 
found  shelter  at  a  friend's  house,  where  he  intended  to 
remain ;  but,  soon  a  report  was  spread,  at  night,  which 
made  him  leave  the  next  day.  After  lying  in  a  swamp,  to 
conceal  himself  until  night,  he  was  kindly  taken  in  by  a 
friend  :  this,  as  we  suppose,  was  near  the  appointment  at 
John  Fogwell's,  subsequently  Holden's  Chapel ;  and  now 
Stulltown.  While  here,  he  heard  that  Joseph  Hartley  was 
arrested  on  Sunday,  5th  of  April,  in  Queen  Anne's  county : 
thus  Messrs.  White,  Wooster,  and  Hartley,  were  arrested 
about  the  same  time,  and  Mr.  Asbury  was  driven  to  conceal 
himself  in  another  neighborhood. 

As  he  was  not  engaged  in  preaching,  he  spent  his  time  in 
reading  the  Greek  and  Latin  Testament,  and  in  prayer :  ten 
minutes,  or  one  sixth  of  every  hour,  when  awake,  was  spent 
in  prayer.  In  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  he  formed  that 
habit  of  prayer  for  which  he  was  ever  afterwards  so  remark- 
ble ;  he  excelled  almost  every  minister  in  prayer. 

April  29th.     He  returned  to   Mr.  White's.     Soon  after 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  207 

Mr.  White  came  home  as  in  answer  to  prayer;  and,  on 
Sunday,  May  17,  he  ventured  to  preach  again  after 
spending  five  or  six  dumb  Sabbaths.  May  19,  Philip  Cox 
began  a  quarterly  meeting  at  White's,  at  which  Mr.  Asbury 
preached.  Soon  after  Judge  White's  case  was  decided,  and 
he  was  permitted  to  return  to  his  family — the  worst  of  the 
storm  was  now  over,  as  it  related  to  Messrs.  Asbury  and 
White;  as  to  the  former,  he  was  not  without  his  misgivings, 
that  he  had  erred  "in  retiring  from  the  work,"  through  fear 
of  his  foes. 

In  the  last  of  May,  Mr.  Hartley  came  to  see  Mr.  Asbury 
at  Mr.  White's,  and  they  both  set  out :  Mr.  Asbury  went 
into  Mispillion;  and,  for  the  first  time,  preached  at  Reynear 
Williams's.  Here  the  Methodist  preachers  had  raised  a 
society  already;  and  in  it  there  was  a  "Mr.  C,"  who  was  a 
public  speaker,  and  soon  after  split  the  society,  and  set 
up  a  church  for  himself;  but  who  "Mr.  C."  was,  as  to  his 
real  name,  we  have  not  found  out.  About  this  time  Mr. 
Asbury  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thorn,  of 
the  Church  of  England,  who  had  a  church  a  little  north  of 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Milford,  Delaware. 

In  the  last  of  June,  Mr.  Asbury  received  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Freeborn  Garrettson,  at  his  liome,  as  he  called  Judge 
White's.  Soon  after  this  Mr.  Garrettson,  in  July  of  this 
year,  was  well  nigh  beaten  to  death,  near  Brown's  Branch, 
in  Queen  Anne's  county,  by  John  Brown. 

Mr,  Asbury  continued  to  travel  in  Delaware,  and  preach 
at  appointments  which  had  been  made  by  other  preachers, 
such  as  Stradley's,  Rickard's,  and  Shockley's,  in  Slaughter 
Neck,  Sussex  county.  After  sallying  out  to  the  preaching 
places,  he  returned  to  Mr.  White's,  as  his  common  centre. 

In  July,  he  made  his  first  visit  to  North-West  Fork 
Hundred,  Sussex  county;  and  preached  at  Charles  Twy- 
ford's,  near  the  present  Trinity  Church  on  Seaford  Circuit. 
Returning  home  he  visited  Joshua  Barwick,  near  Punch 
Hall,  "who  was  in  deep  distress  of  soul."  He  obtained  the 
comfort  of  assurance,  and,  some  years  after  died  hapy. 

August  1,  1778,  he  went  into  the  Fork,  and,  for  the 
first  time  preached  at  Mr.  Ross's,  and  at  Robert  Layton's,  on 
the  head  waters  of  the  Nanticoke  River,  near  the  present 
town  of  B ridge ville.  Two  weeks  after  he  preached  at  White 
Brown's,  the  nephew  of  Judge  White's ;  also  at  John  Flow- 
ers. About  this  time  his  friends  William  Moore,  and 
William  Lynch,  came  all  the  way  from  Baltimore  to  see 
him  at  Judge  White's. 


208  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1778, 


Lord's  Day,  November  1,  1778,  memorable  in  the 
history  of  Methodism  in  London,  as  the  day  on  which  Mr. 
Wesley  opened  the  new  chapel  in  the  City  Road.  See 
Wesley's  Works,  vol.  iv.,  p,  499.  On  this  Sabbath  Mr. 
Asbury  lectured  at  Mr.  White's.  Asbury's  Journal,  vol.  i., 
p.  22-4. 

In  November,  he  rode  to  Quantico,  in  Somerset  county, 
Md.  He  says,  "I  found  no  want  of  anything  there  but 
religion:"  this  was  his  first  visit  to  Somerset. 

In  December  of  this  year,  he  met  with  Brother  Wren, 
who  was  travelling  and  preaching.  From  him  he  learned  that 
the  work  in  which  Methodist  preachers  w^ere  engaged,  was 
prospering  far  beyond  his  expectation.  The  Lord  was 
helping  on  the  work  in  His  own  way,  while  persecution  was 
driving  the  preachers  from  place  to  place.  See  Asbury's 
Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  200-227. 

In  the  latter  end  of  1777,  as  stated  above,  Mr.  Asbury 
came  to  the  Peninsula,  to  the  house  of  Cavel  Hinson,  in 
Kent  county,  where  he  introduced  Methodist  preaching  in 
1772 — he  had  not  seen  his  Kent  county  friends  for  more 
than  four  years;  and  rejoiced  to  find  that  the  Lord  had 
carried  on  a  good  work  among  them  during  his  absence. 
When  he  was  last  upon  this  shore,  in  September,  1773,  there 
were  about  six  preaching  places ;  nov,'  there  were  scores  of 
appointments. 

While  laboring  here  he  received  the  following  strange 
account  concerning  a  wicked  young  man  whose  family  coun- 
tenanced the  Methodists.  He  not  only  opposed  them,  but 
went  to  the  place  of  worship  to  curse  the  preacher,  where  he 
was  struck  with  such  terror  that  he  suddenly  died.  His  own 
brother  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  devil  was  directly  con- 
cerned in  his  death.  It  seems  that  the  circumstances  were 
so  peculiarly  strange  concerning  this  young  man's  death, 
that  they  had  been  attested  on  oath  by  the  people  who  lived 
in  the  house  with  him. 

Mr.  Asbury  continued  to  travel  and  preach  until  the  10th 
of  March,  1778,  when,  on  conscientious  principles,  which 
would  not  allow  him  to  take  the  oath  required  by  the  state 
of  Maryland,  he  withdrew  to  the  state  of  Delaware,  where 
the  clergy  were  not  required  to  take  an  oath  to  the  state. 

After  seeking  Divine  direction  by  prayer  and  fasting,  he 
felt  his  call  was  to  remain  in  America,  having  the  promise 
of  all  the  protection  that  Judge  White's  influence  could 
afford  him.  But,  on  the  night  of  the  2d  of  April,  the  light- 
horse  patrol  surrounded  his  house,  and  the  judge  was  seized, 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  209 

and  carried  away  to  Dover  or  Wilmington,  where  he  was 
examined  as  an  enemy  of  his  country,  because  he  had 
become  a  Methodist,  and  harbored  Methodist  preachers. 
Leaving  his  family  in  great  distress,  he  was  detained  some 
five  weeks,  when  he  returned  to  his  family,  but  went  back  to 
have  his  case  determined,  and  was  finally  discharged. 

It  was  while  Mr.  Asbury  was  thus  hiding  from  his  enemies, 
as  he  tells  us,  "  That  he  went  forth  after  dark  through  the 
gloom  of  the  woods,  from  house  to  house,  to  enforce  the 
truth,  and  join  in  the  worship  of  God.  At  a  late  hour  of  the 
night  he  was  wont  to  assemble  the  family  together,  and  offer 
up  prayer  to  God  in  a  subdued  tone  of  voice,  not  the  less 
hearty  or  acceptable  to  the  Deity  on  that  account ;  adopting 
this  course  at  the  suggestions  of  prudence,  to  avoid  the 
wrath  of  the  enemies  of  God  and  religion." 

He  continued  in  this  exercise,  making  Mr.  Thomas  White's 
his  home,  until  Mr.  White  was  arrested  and  carried  off.  The 
following  week,  fearing  that  he  would  be  taken  into  custody, 
as  his  friend,  who  had  promised  him  secrecy  and  security, 
had  been,  he  left  Mr.  White's;  and,  in  his  language,  "  Rode 
on  through  a  lonesome  devious  road,  like  Abraham,  not 
knowing  whither  I  went,  but  weary  and  unwell,  I  found  a 
shelter  late  at  night;  and  here  I  intended  to  rest  till  Provi- 
dence should  direct  my  way.  But  at  night  a  report  was 
spread  which  inclined  me  to  think  it  would  be  best  for  me  to 
move.  Accordingly,  the  next  day  I  set  out  and  lay  in  a 
swamp  till  about  sunset,  when  I  was  kindly  taken  in  by  a 
friend.  I  thought  myself  like  some  of  the  old  prophets,  hid 
in  times  of  public  distress."  We  can  only  conjecture  what 
neighborhood  he  was  now  in.  We  think  he  went  up  the 
Choptank  to  the  upper  part  of  Kent  county,  about  what  is 
now  called  Holden's  meeting-house.  When  this  meeting  was 
first  raised  up  it  was  called  Fogwell's  ;  and,  it  has  been  said, 
that  many  years  ago  Mr.  Asbury  charged  a  certain  preacher 
of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  to  take  good  care  of  the 
Fogwell  society,  as  it  had  been  greatly  endeared  to  him  at 
the  period  of  his  confinement  at  Judge  White's.  Whatever 
place  he  was  now  in,  he  was  strictly  shut  up  in  a  private 
chamber  in  a  pleasant  family,  wanting  for  nothing,  spending 
his  time  in  reading  and  study,  and  devoting  ten  minutes  of 
each  waking  hour  to  prayer.  After  spending,  in  this  strict 
retirement,  about  three  weeks,  he  ventured  to  leave  this 
asylum  ;  and  under  the  special  protection  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, returned  to  Mr.  White's.  Here,  for  two  weeks,  he 
was  again  shut  up,  spending  what  he  called  his  "  dumb  Sab- 
18* 


210  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1778. 

baths,"  not  preaching,  nor  scarcely  daring  to  show  himself, 
lest  his  enemies  should  lay  violent  hands  upon  him.  These 
five  weeks,  during  which  he  had  not  preached,  were  the  most 
unsatisfactory  part  of  his  life,  as  he  could  not  content 
himself,  unless  he  was  holding  up  a  crucified  Saviour  to  the 
view  of  sinners. 

Unable  to  keep  silence  any  longer,  on  the  13th  of  May, 
he  met  a  small  congregation,  and  found  a  blessing  while 
addressing  it ;  and,  on  the  following  Sabbath,  preached  to  a 
congregation  collected  at  Mr.  White's :  he  was  now  coming 
forth  from  his  confinement. 

It  was  a  question  painfully  revolved  in  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Asbury  whether,  or  not,  he  ought  to  have  thus  concealed 
himself  from  his  enemies  ?  It  is  certain  that  in  this  he  was 
not  imitating  the  Saviour  who  went  forth  to  meet  Judas  and 
his  band  in  the  garden.  Neither  was  he  following  the 
example  of  the  apostles  who  went  forward  in  their  work, 
although  forbidden  by  the  Jewish  council.  Nor  did  he 
exhibit  the  courage  of  a  Wesley  in  the  days  of  mob-violence 
in  England ;  nor  yet  that  of  Abbott,  Garrettson,  and  Hartley, 
who  dared  to  meet  their  worst  foes.  It  seems,  that  his 
prudence  prevailed  over  his  faith.  Though  he  was  an  Eng- 
lishman, and  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley,  and,  therefore,  peculiarly 
obnoxious  at  that  time,  yet  Omnipotence  could,  with  equal 
ease,  protect  an  Englishman  or  an  American.  We  may  well 
suppose,  that,  had  he  gone  on  in  the  work  he  would  have 
fared  no  better  than  Garrettson  or  Hartley.  He  might 
have  been  put  in  prison ;  nay,  he  might  have  borne  in  his 
body  the  marks  of  violence,  but  it  would  have  furthered  the 
cause  of  the  Redeemer.  Mr.  Garrettson  thought  that  he 
never  did  more  for  the  Saviour  in  the  same  length  of  time, 
than  while  he  was  imprisoned  in  Cambridge ;  and  Mr. 
Hartley  could  not  have  accomplished  half  as  much  good  to 
the  people  of  Easton  by  preaching  to  them  out  of  prison,  as 
he  did  by  his  discourses,  made  more  pathetic,  and  received 
with  increased  interest,  on  account  of  the  circumstances  of 
their  delivery. 

We  cannot  think  that  Mr.  Asbury's  enemies  would  have 
had  power  over  his  life,  for  his  work  was  not  yet  accomplished 
on  earth;  if  he  had  continued  to  travel  and  preach  the  few 
weeks  that  he  lay  by.  If  we  suppose  that  he  was  out  of  the 
track  of  duty,  by  hiding  from  his  foes,  it  accounts  for  the 
extraordinary  inward  conflicts  and  temptations  that  he 
passed  through,  during  this  season,  and,  that  too,  when 
surrounded  with  every  comfort  that  was  needful  for  his  body. 


1778.]  IN    AMERICA.  211 

Some  Methodist  historians  have  unfairly  represented  Mr. 
Anbury  as  being  ahnost  totally  inactive  during  the  years 
1778  and  1779.  The  truth  of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  he 
Avas  only  five  weeks  closely  confined ;  and  but  eleven  weeks 
in  which  he  did  not  travel  and  preach.  It  is  true,  that  he 
kept  himself  mostly  in  the  state  of  Delaware  for  two  years 
in  succession ;  but,  with  the  above  exception,  he  was  travel- 
ling and  preaching  in  New  Castle,  Kent,  Sussex,  and  Somerset 
counties;  and  this  part  of  his  public  life  differed  from  other 
portions  of  it  in  this,  that  his  labors  were  restricted  to  four 
counties,  instead  of  being  distributed  through  as  many  states. 

Some  parts  of  this  chapter  were  composed  at  different 
times ;  the  reader  wnll  please  excuse  the  repetition  of  facts 
and  language  found  in  it.  As  it  presents  the  crisis  of  Mr. 
Asbury's  life  in  this  country,  we  regard  it  as  highly  interesting 
and  important. 

In  the  latter  end  of  May,  Mr.  Asbury  began  to  itinerate 
again.  The  first  appointment  he  filled  was  at  Reynear  Wil- 
liams's, in  Mispillion.  In  July  he  went  into  Sussex  and 
preached  at  Mr.  Charles  Twyford's.  In  August  he  went 
further  into  North  West  Fork  and  preached  at  Mr.  Ross's 
and  at  Mr.  Robert  Layton's ;  also,  at  Mr.  White  Brown's, 
who  was  the  nephew  of  Judge  White ;  and,  in  November,  he 
was  in  Somerset  county  for  the  first  time,  and  preached  in 
Broad  Creek  and  Quantico — ground  that  Mr.  Garrettson  had 
just  before  broken  up.  His  circuit  reached  from  Slaughter 
Neck  to  Quantico,  a  distance  of  about  sixty  miles,  a  very 
small  circuit  for  that  time,  when  they  were  in  some  instances 
five  hundred  miles  in  circuit.  It  lay  in  three  counties,  Kent 
and  Sussex,  in  Delaware,  and  Somerset,  in  Maryland.  It 
contained  about  twenty  appointments,  of  which  the  principal 
ones  w^ere  at  Messrs.  Shockley's  and  Rickards's,  Reynear 
Williams's,  James  Layton's,  Widow  Jump's,  Charles  Twy- 
ford's, Mr.  Ross's,  Robert  Layton's,  White  Brown's,  at  Broad 
Creek,  and  at  Quantico ;  while  Mr.  White's  was  the  centre. 
As  he  was  permitted  to  exercise  his  ministry  during  these 
perilous  times  in  the  state  of  Delaware,  he  expressed  a  hope 
that  it  would  become  a  garden  of  the  Lord,  filled  with  plants 
of  His  own  planting ;  and,  it  came  to  pass ;  for,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century,  not  only  Delaware  but  the  whole 
Peninsula  was  the  garden  of  the  Lord,  set  with  plants  of  His 
planting. 

The  true  minister  of  God  finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in 
seeing  souls  coming  to  Christ.  Mr.  Asbury  saw  this  almost 
daily.      A  young  woman  who   had  been   awakened  under 


212  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1778. 

Captain  Webb  some  years  before,  and,  who  thought  she  could 
never  be  happy  unless  among  the  Methodists,  was  brought  to 
Grod  about  this  time,  in  the  region  of  Mr.  White,  by  the 
instrumentality  of  Mr.  Asbury ;  also,  Mrs.  Peterkin,  a  relative 
of  Judge  White,  was  born  again  at  the  age  of  seventy,  and 
died  in  the  full  triumph  of  faith  in  1780.  Her  aged  com- 
panion also  experienced  a  blessed  change  and  soon  followed 
her  to  eternity — they  are  buried  alongside  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
White.  About  this  time  Joshua  Barwick  of  Punch  Hall, 
now  Burrville,  was  converted  and  became  a  Methodist.  After 
a  faithful  life  of  ten  years  he  went  to  his  reward.  His  family 
have  generally  gone  with  the  Methodists ;  and  some  of  his 
descendants  have  been  Methodist  preachers.  The  Hardisty 
family  was  also  brought  in.  Mr.  Asbury  preached  the  funeral 
of  Father  Hardisty  in  1779.  His  son  William  was  a  travel- 
ling preacher  in  the  Philadelphia  Conference  for  several 
years. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


In  May,  1778,  the  Sixth  Annual  Conference  was  held  in 
Leesburg,  Va.  This  w^as  the  first  time  that  the  Conference 
was  held  in  Virginia.  As  Mr.  Asbury  thought  it  unsafe  for 
him  to  visit  it,  Mr.  William  Watters  being  the  oldest  travel- 
ling preacher  present — and  he  had  been  in  the  work  but  six 
years — was  made  the  chairman.  There  was  no  particular 
return  of  members  at  this  Conference,  but  they  were  given 
in  the  aggregate  for  6095,  showing  a  decrease  of  873.  This 
was  the  first  time  that  there  had  appeared  any  decrease  of 
members  since  the  commencement  of  Methodism  in  America. 
The  travelling  preachers  were  also  reduced  from  36  to  29. 
This  decrease  of  ministers  and  members  must  be  charged  to 
the  war,  that  was  raging  then  with  violence.  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Chester,  Frederick,  and  Norfolk,  were  left  off 
of  the  Minutes.  Four  new  circuits  appear  in  the  Minutes  in 
Virginia,  namely,  Berkley,  Fluvanna,  Lunenburg,  and  James 
City. 

From  this  Conference  Mr.  Watters  went  again  to  Fairfax 
Circuit;  and  in  June,  1778,  was  married  to  Sarah  Adams, 
of  Fairfax  county,  Va.,  who  was  truly  a  helpmeet  for  him. 

During  the  fall  of  this  year,  he,  in  company  with  the  Rev. 
C.  B.  Pedicord,  travelled  through  Prince  William,  Stafford, 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  213 

King  George,  Spottsylvania,  and  Hanover  counties,  in  order 
to  form  a  circuit  or  two.  They  found  many  ^Yilling  to  receive 
Methodist  preaching  ;  and  afterwards,  Lancaster  and  Stafford 
Circuits  covered  this  ground. 

The  preachers  that  were  appointed  to  Libor  on  the  Penin- 
sula this  year  were  Messrs.  Garrettson,  Hartley,  Littlejohn, 
and  Cooper.  Mr.  Littlejohn,  on  account  of  the  persecution, 
thought  it  best  to  return  to  Virginia,  where  he  shortly  after 
married,  and  located.  Mr.  Cooper's  health  was  poor,  and 
for  a  while  he  was  unable  to  do  much. 

Joseph  Hartley,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Sus>ex  county,  Va.  (his  sister  belonged  to  the  society  at 
Robert  Jones's),  had  travelled  two  quarters  the  previous 
year,  and  was  received  in  1776  as  a  travelling  preacher,  and 
stands  for  Kent  Circuit.  In  1777  he  was  stationed  in  Bal- 
timore Circuit.  In  the  latter  end  of  this  year  he  returned 
to  the  Peninsula  to  Kent  Circuit.  In  the  month  of  April, 
in  1778,  he  was  taken  by  the  rulers  of  Queen  Anne's  county, 
and  was  put  in  confinement  for  a  short  time.  The  court 
before  which  he  was  brought  prohibited  him  from  preaching; 
but  when  his  bands  were  loosed  he  went  forth,  attending  his 
appointments,  and  after  singing  and  praying,  he  would  re- 
main on  his  knees  and  exhort  the  people  in  a  most  feeling 
and  forcible  manner,  until  his  enemies  said  they  were  as  will- 
ing he  should  preach  on  his  feet  as  on  his  knees.  After  his 
release  from  confinement,  he  travelled  and  preached  in 
Delaware  state,  where  the  rulers  were  more  favorable  to 
Methodist  preachers. 

Mr.  Garrettson  was  the  most  efficient  laborer  in  this  field. 
The  beginning  of  this  year  was  the  most  trying  time  that  the 
Methodists  had  experienced.  The  storm  had  been  gathering 
for  three  years.  The  first  blood  had  been  shed  in  defence 
of  the  rights  claimed  by  the  colonists  in  1775.  The  same 
year,  the  barbarous  Lord  Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  of 
Virginia,  had  burnt  Norfolk,  and  sent  five  thousand  homeless 
men,  women^  and  children  wandering  through  the  country. 
The  king  had  sent  forth  his  proclamation,  calling  on  the 
colonists  to  submit.  Mr.  Wesley  had,  most  unfortunately  for 
his  followers  here,  dipped  his  pen  into  the  politics  of  America. 
His  assistant,  Ilankin,  had  declared  from  the  pulpit  of  St. 
George's,  that  he  believed  God's  work  w^ould  not  revive  until 
the  people  submitted  to  King  George.  Mr.  Rodda  had  been 
detected,  while  on  Kent  Circuit  in  1777,  in  circulating  the 
king's  proclamation,  and  had  to  leave  the  work  and  take 
refuge  in  the  British  fleet,  then  in  the  Chesapeake;  and 


214  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1778. 

Chancy  Clowe,  who  had  been  a  public  speaker,  and  a  Method- 
ist of  some  note,  raised  a  company  of  three  hundred  men, 
having  his  head-quarters  in  Kenton  forest,  Kent  county, 
Del.,  where  the  lines  of  his  fortifications  are  still  to  be  seen 
— intending  to  make  his  way  through  the  country,  and  join 
the  British  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  This  company  was  dis- 
persed, and  Clowe  their  leader  was  tried,  condemned,  and 
executed  in  the  state  of  Delaware.  There  was  but  one, 
besides  Clowe,  found  in  this  rebel  company  that  had  ever 
borne  the  name  of  Methodist. 

Add  to  all  this,  that  the  Methodists,  however  well  affected 
to  their  country,  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing 
arms  and  fighting.  All  this  gave  pretext  to  their  enemies  to 
call  them  tories,  and  look  upon  them  as  enemies  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  their  country.  Hence  the  storm  of  perse- 
cution that  came  upon  Mr.  Wooster,  who  was  imprisoned  at 
Annapolis;  upon  Mr.  Jonathan  Forrest;  upon  Mr.  Asbury, 
who  was  fined,  and  driven  out  of  the  work  for  a  short  time ; 
upon  Mr.  Hartley,  who  was  arrested  in  Queen  Anne's,  and 
subsequently  put  in  Talbot  jail ;  upon  Mr.  Garrettson,  who 
was  beaten  in  Queen  Anne's,  and  afterwards  put  in  Cam- 
bridge jail ;  upon  Judge  White,  for  harboring  them ;  upon 
Pedicord  and  others. 

In  June,  1778,  Mr.  Garrettson  commenced  his  labors  at 
Kent  meeting-house,  on  the  Eastern  shore.  Here  the  Meth- 
odists had  many  friends ;  and,  we  may  add,  the  people  of 
this  county  never  so  violently  persecuted  the  preachers. 
The  friends  here  advised  him  to  remain  with  them,  and  not 
expose  his  life  by  travelling  at  large.  He  tried  to  comply 
with  this  advice,  but  in  the  course  of  a  week  his  spirit  was 
stirred  within  him  :  he  cried  to  God  to  know  his  will,  and 
felt  an  impulse  to  go  forward,  believing  that  the  Lord  would 
stand  by  and  deliver  him.  With  this  Divine  assurance  he 
left  his  Kent  friends,  not  fearing  his  worst  enemies,  and  went 
through  Cecil  county,  and  part  of  Delaware  state  as  far  as 
Judge  White's,  unmolested ;  but  when  he  went  into  Queen 
Anne's  he  was  threatened  with  imprisonment.  As  he  was 
going  into  Kent,  Mr.  John  Brown  met  him,  and  seizing  the 
horse's  bridle  told  him  he  must  go  to  jail.  Mr.  Garrettson 
remonstrating  against  his  order,  he  commenced  beating  him 
over  the  head  and  shoulders  with  a  stick.  Just  then  Mr. 
Garrettson,  breaking  away  from  him,  put  whip  to  his  horse 
and  endeavored  to  make  his  escape.  But  Mr.  Brown  took 
a  nearer  route,  and  heading  him,  struck  at  him,  but  missed 
him.     Just  then  Mr.  Garrettson's  horse,  stopping  suddenly, 


1778.]  IN    AMERICA.  215 

threw  him  to  the  ground  in  an  insensible  state.  He  was 
taken  to  a  house  near  by  and  bled  by  a  doctress,  who  just 
then  was  passing  by,  and  who  carried  her  lancet  when  called 
out.  This  restored  him  to  his  senses.  Mr.  Brown,  fearing 
that  if  his  victim  died  he  would  be  tried  for  murder,  was 
much  agitated,  while  Mr.  Garrettson  was  exhorting  his  per- 
secutor to  repentance,  as  happy  as  he  well  could  be.  But 
as  soon  as  Mr.  Brown  thought  him  out  of  danger  of  death, 
he  brought  a  magistrate  to  have  him  sent  to  prison.  But 
when  Mr.  Garrettson  showed  him  his  sin  in  thus  endeavoring 
to  stop  the  gospel,  and  his  fearful  accountability  to  God  for 
such  a  course  of  conduct,  he  dropped  his  pen  without  finish- 
ing the  mittimus.  After  giving  a  suitable  exhortation  to 
the  magistrate,  whose  wife's  funeral  he  shortly  afterwards 
preached,  and  to  his  persecutor  and  all  present,  he  went  with 
the  doctress,  who  had  brought  a  carriage  to  take  him  in  to 
Father  Dudley's,  where  he  sat  in  his  bed  that  night  and 
preached  to  a  few  of  the  despised  Methodists.  This  ended 
his  violent  persecution  in  Queen  Anne's  county. 

The  spot  where  Mr.  Garrettson  was  beaten  is  between 
Church  Hill  and  Chestertown,  opposite  the  farm  where  Mr. 
Brown  lived,  which  is  still  owned  by  his  descendants ;  at 
what  is  called  Brown's  Branch.  A  large  tree,  it  is  said, 
marks  the  precise  spot  where  he  lay  in  his  insensible  state, 
when  it  was  feared  that  he  would  die. 

A  few  days  afterwards  he  preached  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood, and  many  were  ready  to  say,  "  Surely  this  is  the  right 
way."  In  1809  Mr.  Garrettson  was  visiting  his  old  friends 
in  this  region,  when  a  near  relation  of  Mr.  Brown  that  beat 
him  was  the  principal  vestryman  in  the  Episcopal  Church ; 
and  to  make  some  atonement  for  the  treatment  he  received 
in  1778,  an  almost  unheard-of  favor  for  that  country,  was 
conferred  upon  him,  in  an  invitation  to  preach  in  the  old 
church  at  Church  Hill.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
seldom,  if  ever  before,  was  the  church  so  crowded  with  church 
folks  and  Methodists,  white  and  black ;  and  it  was  a  moving 
time.  A  similar  favor  was  extended  to  Dr.  Coke  in  178-4, 
who  preached  in  this  church  by  invitation  of  the  vestry. 

After  preaching  at  James  Layton's,  in  Marshy  Hope, 
where  a  man  "  threatened  him  for  killing  his  wife"  (because 
she  fell  under  conviction,  crying  for  mercy),  and  at  the 
widow  Jump's,  at  Robert  Layton's,  and  at  Charles  Twy- 
ford's,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Talbot  county,  where  he 
*'  labored  day  and  night  with  tears."  He  says,  "  Sweet 
refreshing  seasons  had  I  among  those  dear  loving  people :  I 


216  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1778. 

shall  not  soon  forget  those  mothers  in  Israel,  Sister  Parrot 
and  Sister  Bruff,  who  are  now  lodged  in  Abraham's  bosom. 
They,  I  trust,  lived  and  died  witnesses  of  perfect  love." 

From  Talbot  Mr.  Garrettson,  accompanied  by  several 
friends,  went  to  Kent  Island,  where  he  was  the  first  of  his 
brethren  that  preached ;  and  if  he  did  not  raise  up  a  Meth- 
odist society,  on  his  first  visit,  he  laid  the  foundation  for  one, 
and  this  island  has  long  been  a  place  where  Methodism  has 
been  popular,  and  Methodist  preachers  have  delighted  to 
visit  it. 

In  September,  1778,  Mr.  Asbury  being  unable  to  attend 
his  appointment  at  Reynear  Williams's,  in  Mispillion, 
Mr.  Garrettson  preached  in  his  place.  This  was  the  first 
time  that  he  was  at  this  place ;  he  preached  two  sermons, 
giving  a  short  interval  between  them.  The  venerable  old 
tree,  under  w^hich  he  preached  to  hundreds,  it  is  said,  is  still 
standing.  It  was  a  day  of  the  Son  of  man.  Its  effects,  near 
and  remote,  were  great.  One  very  wicked  man,  who  came 
to  the  meeting  with  a  heart  full  of  sin,  and  his  mouth  full 
of  cursing,  was  so  powerfully  convicted  that  he  would  have 
run  away  if  he  had  dared  to  trust  his  strength ;  but  before 
the  meeting  was  over  he  cast  his  soul  on  Jesus  by  faith  and 
was  justified.  A  military  officer  who  was  present  was  so 
deeply  awakened  that  he  gave  up  his  office  and  became  a 
Christian.  As  the  more  remote  effects  of  this  day's  labor, 
several  new  appointments  were  made  at  the  earnest  request 
of  tlie  people.  Mr.  Lewis,  who  lived  in  Murder-kill,  was  at 
this  meeting,  and  tasting  the  sweetness  of  gospel  truth,  Mr. 
Garrettson  made  his  house  a  preaching  place.  Here  a  society 
was  raised  up  this  year  among  the  Barratts  and  Sipples,  that 
led  to  the  erection  of  Barratt's  Chapel,  in  1780 ;  Mr.  Philip 
Barratt  and  Jonathan  Sipple,  with  many  others,  were 
awakened  under  his  preaching,  and  brought  in  among  the 
Methodists.  About  eighteen  months  after  this  Brother 
Sipple  exchanged  earth  for  paradise.  Just  before  Mr.  Gar- 
rettson came  into  Murder-kill  he  tells  us,  "  The  Lord  had 
awakened  a  woman  of  distinction  by  an  earthquake.  She 
found  peace  to  her  soul,  and  about  a  year  after  died  a 
witness  of  perfect  love."  From  Mr.  Asbury's  Journal  we 
conclude  that  her  name  was  Ruth  Smith,  who,  in  her  last 
hours,  was  constantly  praising  God  and  preaching  Christ  to 
all  around  her. 

Under  the  second  sermon  that  Mr.  Garrettson  preached 
at  Mr.  Lewis's,  young  Caleb  Boyer  was  awakened,  and  in 
1780  began  to  travel  a  circuit.    He  became  a  great  preacher 


1778.]  IN    AMERICA.  217 

among  the  Methodists,  and  we  are  persuaded  that  the  Rev. 
Ezekiel  Cooper  formed  his  style  of  argumentative  preaching 
after  Mr.  Beyer's,  who  was  said  to  be  the  Paul  of  Methodism 
while  he  itinerated.  Mr.  Garrettson  established  preaching 
at  the  house  of  the  father  of  Mr.  Boyer,  where  a  society  was 
formed  in  1778,  which  is  still  represented  at  Banning's 
Chapel  below  Dover. 

Many  of  the  people  of  this  region  had  been  raised  Presby- 
terians. The  Rev.  Mr.  Huston  was  their  minister  during 
the  days  of  the  Revolution.  He,  like  many  of  his  brethren, 
was  fully  committed  to  the  cause  of  American  liberty ;  and 
in  his  church  used  to  pray  for  the  success  of  the  Continental 
army;  and  to  this  end,  "That  the  Lord  would  send  plenty 
of  powder  and  ball"  to  greet  their  enemies  with. 

One  Sabbath  while  he  was  engaged  at  his  church,  a  detach- 
ment of  British  soldiers  came  to  his  house,  and  left  their 
compliments  by  boring  their  bayonets  through  the  panels  of 
his  doors,  ripping  up  his  beds,  and  carrying  oif  rather  more 
of  his  live  stock,  his  cows,  pigs,  and  poultry,  than  they 
were  welcome  to  by  the  feelings  of  his  heart. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Huston's  granddaughter  is  the  wife  of  our 
brother  Solomon  Townsend,  of  Union  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  this  city. 

Mr.  Smithers,  of  Dover,  came  to  Mr.  Shaw's  in  1778  ; 
and  under  Mr.  Garrettson's  preaching  his  heart  was  touched, 
and  he  invited  him  to  preach  in  the  Academy  at  Dover  ;  and 
on  the  12th  of  September  of  this  year,  in  the  afternoon,  he 
made  his  appearance  at  the  Academy  that  stands  at  the 
south  end  of  the  town,  where  he  was  to  preach.  Here  he 
found  some  hundreds  assembled,  and  as  soon  as  he  alighted 
a  clamor  arose ;  some  said  he  was  a  good  man,  some  called 
him  a  deceiver,  some  declared  him  a  friend  to  the  king, 
others  proclaimed  him  one  of  Clowe's  men,  that  ought  to  be 
hung  as  Clowe  had  been.  There  might  have  been  a  serious 
time  if  there  had  not  been  some  friends  of  order  there ;  Mr. 
Pryor,  a  Whitefieldite,  Mr.  Lockerman,  whose  descendants 
are  still  in  Dover,  and  the  alderman  interposed,  and  the  first 
Methodist  sermon  was  preached  on  a  stage  erected  in  front 
of  the  Academy,  the  congregation  being  within  and  without. 
It  was  a  time  of  tears ;  some  that  came  to  persecute  were 
there  to  have  the  gospel  net  thrown  around  them — the 
enemy  was  circumvented.  The  preacher  was  heard  all  over 
the  town.  Some  that  stayed  at  home,  and  one  female  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  off,  were  powerfully  convicted.  In  the 
evening  he  held  meeting  at  Mr.  Smithers',  with  whom  he 
19 


218  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1778. 

put  up,  when  he  had  many  of  the  chief  people  of  the  place 
to  hear  him.  When  he  retired  to  bed,  he  vvas  sorely  tempted 
by  the  enemy ;  and  Mrs.  Smithers  hearing  him  sighing  and 
groaning  in  prayer,  was  driven  to  commence  prayer  for  her- 
self. There  were  about  twenty-five  persons  brought  under 
deep  conviction  for  sin  as  the  result  of  this  first  visit  of  Mr. 
Garrettson,  and  the  next  day  he  joined  those  that  were  truly 
awakened  into  society.  One  elderly  lady,  with  all  her  child- 
ren, numbering  ten,  and  with  their  husbands  and  wives, 
amounting  to  sixteen  or  eighteen,  went  with  the  Methodists* 

The  original  Methodist  society  in  Dover  was  formed  Sep- 
tember 13,  1778.  At  this  time  preaching  was  established 
at  Mr.  Hilliard's,  above  Dover.  Soon  after  at  the  Gum- 
swamp  appointment,  and  subsequently  in  Little  Creek. 

In  October,  1778,  Mr.  Garrettson  tells  us  that  he  was 
directed  by  a  dream  to  the  people  of  Sussex  and  Somerset 
counties ;  and  believing  that  the  dream  was  of  God,  he 
directed  his  course  to  Broad  Creek,  in  the  lower  end  of  Sus- 
sex. Here,  on  a  Sabbath  day,  in  a  forest,  he  preached  two 
sermons,  giving  a  short  interval  between  the  two  discourses. 
This  was  the  first  Methodist  preaching  the  people  of  this 
region  heard.  There  was  much  weeping  among  the  hundreds 
that  had  met  to  hear  the  new  doctrine.  The  people  of  this 
place  were  so  far  from  having  the  power  of  godliness  that 
they  had  not  even  the  form  of  it — they  were  swearers, 
fighters,  drunkards,  horse-racers,  gamblers,  and  dancers. 
As  a  specimen  of  their  morals,  a  woman  came  the  next  day 
with  a  pistol  to  shoot  him,  while  he  was  performing  funeral 
service  for  the  dead.  On  this  first  visit  thirty  or  forty  were 
deeply  awakened,  who  soon  after  were  united  in  society ;  and 
there  were  some  fifty  praying  families  in  Broad  Creek  within 
a  year  from  this  time ;  it  was  with  difiiculty  that  the  uncon- 
verted could  raise  a  frolic  in  this  section  of  country. 

While  Mr.  Garrettson  was  preaching  at  Broad  Creek  this 
year,  two  aged  people,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryder,  who  were  visit- 
ing their  friends,  heard  him,  and  were  much  touched  under 
his  preaching.  They  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  the  gospel 
under  Mr.  Whitefield's  ministry,  twenty  years  before.  After 
meeting  was  over  they  approached  him  with  tears,  and  the 
old  lady  thus  addressed  him  :  "  Many  years  ago  we  heard 
Mr.  Whitefield  preach,  and,  until  we  heard  you,  we  had  not 
heard  a  gospel  sermon  for  twenty  years.  The  first  time  I 
heard  you  preach,  I  knew  it  was  the  truth ;  but  I  only  had 
a  little  spark  left.  Yesterday  we  heard  you  again — and  the 
little  spark  was  blown  up  to  a  coal ;  and,  glory  to  God,  to- 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  211. 

day  the  coal  is  blown  up  to  a  flame.  We  cannot  hide  our- 
selves any  longer  from  you ;  our  house  and  hearts  are  open 
to  receive  you  and  the  blessed  word  you  preach."  Thus  was 
Methodism  brought  to  Quantico  in  November,  1778,  when  a 
society  commenced,  which  still  continues.  This  was  the  first 
Methodist  society  founded  in  Somerset  count}^,  Md.  ;  and 
here  the  first  Methodist  Chapel  in  Somerset  county  was 
opened  for  worship  as  early  as  1784,  as  it  appears  that  Dr. 
Coke  preached  in  it  this  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryder  were 
the  principal  persons  in  the  Quantico  society ;  most  of  the 
others  were  young  people,  "that  were  tender  as  lambs,"  says 
Mr.  Garrettson.  There  have  been  many  valuable  Methodists 
about  Quantico  and  Salisbury  of  this  Ryder  family. 

On  Mr.  Garrettson's  first  visit  to  Broad  Creek,  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Nellum,  a  merchant  of  Salisbury,  was  powerfully 
awakened.  Through  this  family,  he  was  brought  to  Salis- 
bury, in  Somerset  county,  where  the  Lord  began  a  good 
work,  through  his  labors,  in  November,  1778,  and  a  Meth- 
odist society  was  raised  up,  which  still  exists.  Here  the 
enemy  rallied  his  forces ;  the  sheriff  served  a  writ  upon  him, 
but,  when  Mr.  Garrettson  showed  him  the  consequences  of 
stopping  a  herald  of  the  Saviour,  he  was  afraid  to  proceed  ; 
and  Mr.  G.  went  to  his  next  appointment,  where  the  enemies 
of  truth  were  shaken  by  the  power  of  God.  The  following 
year,  when  he  returned  to  this  place  to  preach,  the  mob — 
made  of  what  was  called  the  first  people  of  the  county — sent 
one  of  their  members  as  a  spy,  to  give  information  of  the 
best  time  to  take  him.  This  spy  sat  near  the  preacher  until 
his  heart  was  touched,  and  he  wept  freely.  He  returned  to 
his  company,  and  told  them  that  he  had  heard  the  truth 
preached,  and  if  they  touched  the  preacher  he  would  enforce 
the  law  against  them.  After  this,  there  was  but  little  vio- 
lent opposition  to  Methodist  preachers  at  Salisbury,  in  Mary- 
land. 

In  September  of  this  year,  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson  at- 
tended the  funeral  of  his  brother,  John  Garrettson. 

The  death  of  Mr.  John  Garrettson  had  this  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance attending  it,  that  it  was  previously  known  to  him. 
He  took  final  leave  of  his  brother  Freeborn  two  weeks  before 
he  died,  telling  him,  "  I  shall  never  see  you  again  in  this 
world."  It  Avas  even  so  ;  before  his  brother  reached  that  part 
of  the  circuit,  he  was  dead  and  buried.  The  last  night  that  he 
lived,  his  wife,  inquiring  of  the  doctor  in  a  low  tone  of  voice, 
how  long  he  thought  her  husband  would  live  ?  The  doctor 
replied  that  he  could  not  last  until  morning.     He,  overhear- 


220  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1778. 

ing  the  conversation  replied,  "Doctor,  I  shall  not  go  till 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  ;"  at  which  hour  he  died.  His 
intellectual  faculties  remained  to  the  last ;  and  his  last  hours 
■were  spent  in  exhorting  his  wife,  and  his  brother  Richard 
Garrettson,  who  lived  with  him  and  afterwards  became  a 
travelling  preacher,  to  stand  fast  and  hold  out  to  the  end. 
To  his  two  unconverted  brothers,  Thomas  and  Aquila,  who 
lived  on  the  Western  Shore,  he  sent  word  that  he  never  ex- 
pected to  see  them  in  heaven  unless  they  repented  and  gave 
their  hearts  to  the  Lord.  This  message  had  the  desired 
effect ;  they  both,  soon  after  they  received  it,  sought  and 
found  the  Lord.  Mr.  John  Garrettson  had  been  very  useful 
in  the  neighborhood  where  he  lived,  having  had  charge  of 
three  classes,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in  the  service  of  the 
Methodists,  meeting  classes,  and  in  visiting  from  house  to 
house.     He  died  a  witness  of  perfect  love. 

He  had  married  a  pious  young  lady  in  Cecil  county,  in 
1775,  where  he  continued  to  live ;  and  at  his  death,  "  was 
interred  on  the  east  side  of  the  preaching-house."  At  that 
time,  it  seems,  there  were  no  Methodist  societies  in  the 
county  but  those  in  Sassafras  Neck,  and  Bohemia  Manor. 
This  "preaching-house"  must  have  been  either  the  old 
Johntown  house  in  the  Neck,  or  Bethesda  on  the  Manor. 

Whichever  it  was,  we  conclude  that  Mr.  John  Garrettson, 
•who  it  seems  was  buried  near  it,  had  been  its  founder, 
between  1775  and  1778 ;  and  that  it  was  the  second  preach- 
ing-house the  Methodists  had  on  this  shore. 

The  day  after  the  funeral,  Mr.  Garrettson  was  instru- 
mental in  saving  the  life  of  one,  who,  fearing  that  his  day 
of  grace  was  past,  had  ascended  a  tree,  and  was  about  to 
hang  himself. 

Among  those  who  were  brought  to  God  this  year  under 
the  ministry  of  Mr.  Garrettson,  was  Dr.  Anderson,  of  Kent 
county,  Md.,  who  was  long  an  ornament  of  Methodism ;  also, 
the  daughter  of  parson  Harriss,  of  Chestertown,  who  was  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Ridgley,  of  Delaware.  In  Queen  Anne's  county, 
Mr.  Segar,  who  was  a  pillar  in  his  day ;  also,  Messrs.  Sudler 
and  Fediman. 

In  November,  1778,  on  a  quarterly  meeting  occasion  in 
Talbot  county,  about  fifteen  persons  met  to  hold  a  prayer- 
meeting  at  Mr.  Parrot's  the  night  after  quarterly  meeting 
ended.  Mr.  Garrettson  was  assisted  at  this  meeting  by  Mr. 
Hartley,  and  his  brother  Richard  Garrettson.  This  was  a 
powerful  meeting,  and  lasted  six  hours — ending  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning.     Five  souls — Dr.  White,  his  two  sisters,  and 


1778.]  IN    AMERICA.  221 

two  other  young  ladies — were  set  at  liberty.  Some  time  after 
this.  Dr.  White  removed  from  Kent  county,  Delaware,  to 
Dorchester,  in  Maryland.  He  was  settled  in  Cambridge  in 
1799,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death.  He  was 
a  pillar  among  the  Methodists,  both  in  Delaware  and  in  Mary- 
land. We  spent  a  night  with  the  doctor  in  1823.  When 
we  arrived  at  his  house  we  found  him  apparently  under  the 
hypochondria,  and  wished  ourselves  away ;  but  during  the 
night  he  slept  it  off,  and  in  the  morning  he  could  shake  his 
fat  sides  with  a  laugh,  and  we  never  conversed  with  a  plea- 
santer  Christian,  or  a  finer  old  gentleman.  He  lived  to  a 
good  old  age. 

Dr.  White  had  a  brother,  whose  name  was  John,  who  had 
been  a  great  persecutor  of  the  Methodists  while  in  health.. 
In  the  fall  of  1778  he  sickened,  and  became  very  penitent, 
begging  the  prayers  of  the  Methodists  whom  he  had  despised. 
Mr.  Gan^ettson  visited  him,  and  frequently  prayed  with 
him  in  his  illness.  Before  he  died  the  Lord  set  his  soul  at 
liberty  during  prayer  in  his  family,  when  he  testified  that 
the  love  of  God  was  shed  abroad  in  his  soul,  and  that  he 
was  ready  and  willing  to  die.  Mr.  Garrettson  preached  his 
funeral  to  a  large  and  much  affected  audience. 

Another  brother  of  Dr.  White,  was  called  Samuel.  At 
one  time  he-  lived  in  Dover  ;  he  also  was  a  Methodist.  Some 
of  his  descendants  are  in  Philadelphia. 

While  Mr.  Garrettson  was  planting  Methodism  in  Somer- 
set, Sussex,  and  Kent  counties,  and  Mr.  Asbury  and  others 
were  watering  it,  Mr.  Turner,  a  local  preacher,  came  from 
New  Jersey  in  1778  into  New  Castle  county,  and  was  the 
first  Methodist  preacher  in  Appoquinimink  above  Duck 
Creek.  Among  others  that  were  awakened  under  him,  was 
Lewis  Alfree,  who,  from  a  great  sinner,  came  out  a  useful 
Methodist  preacher.  At  his  house,  near  Field's  Corner, 
there  was  preaching  and  a  society  was  formed ;  from  here 
Methodism  spread  to  Blackiston's,  Thoroughfare  Neck,  Duck 
Creek  Cross-roads,  Severson's,  and  Dickinson's  or  Union. 

After  this.  Turner  returned  to  Jersey  to  his  family  to  settle 
his  business,  intending  after  a  while  to  become  a  travelling 
preacher.  As  there  was  a  pressing  necessity  for  his  services 
in  the  work  immediately.  Brother  Ruff,  who  was  preaching 
in  Jersey  at  this  time,  urged  him  to  go  at  once  into  the 
regular  work  on  the  circuit ;  using  this  argument,  "  Suppose 
you  knew  that  you  had  but  two  weeks  to  live,  would  you  not 
spend  them  in  preaching  on  the  circuit — laboring  daily  to 
bring  sinners  to  Christ?"  Turner  replied,  "Yes."  By  the 
19* 


222  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1778. 

time  Brother  Ruff  came  round  to  his  neighborhood,  two 
weeks  after  this  conversation,  Brother  Turner  was  dead  of 
the  small-pox. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


Some  ten  or  twelve  new  laborers  entered  into  the  itinerant 
life  in  1778.  The  Minutes  of  1779  return  Robert  Cloud  as 
desisting  from  travelling,  which  implies  that  he  was  itinera- 
ting in  1778.  He  was  raised  in  Newcastle  county,  Delaware, 
above  Wilmington.  Mr.  Robert  Cloud  appears  to  have  been 
the  second  Methodist  itinerant  from  the  state  of  Delaware. 
He  re-entered  the  work  again  in  1785. 

Two  whose  names  are  found  in  the  Minutes  this  year, 
namely,  Richard  Ogburn,  a  Virginian,  and  Daniel  Duvall, 
continued  in  the  work  but  one  year. 

John  Beck  itinerated  two  years. 

William  Moore  was  irregularly  in  the  work  for  about  three 
years.  We  are  led  to  think  that  he  was  the  same  as  Mr. 
William  Moore,  the  first  man  of  note  that  joined  the  Method- 
ists in  Baltimore. 

Philip  x\dams,  probably  a  Virginian,  continued  to  travel 
and  preach  until  1781,  when  he  was  called  by  death  to  re- 
ceive his  reward. 

John  Atkins  travelled  about  four  years. 

Mr.  James  O'Kelly  was  first  known  personally  to  Mr. 
Asbury  in  1780.  He  was  then  a  warm-hearted  Christian, 
and  a  zealous  preacher — he  would  rise  at  midnight  and  pour 
out  his  soul  in  prayer,  crying,  "  Give  me  children,  or  I  die." 
He  was  ordained  elder  at  the  organization  of  the  Church  in 
1784.  For  several  years  he  filled  high  stations  in  the 
Church — acting  as  elder  at  the  head  of  a  district — he  was 
useful  and  had  much  influence.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
first  council,  that  met  in  1789.  In  1790  he  addressed  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Asbury,  complaining  of  his  power,  and  bidding  him 
halt  in  his  episcopal  career  for  one  year,  or  he  would  have  to 
use  his  influence  against  him.  In  1792,  at  the  first  General 
Conference,  Mr.  O'Kelly  moved  a  resolution,  "  That  if  any 
preacher  felt  himself  aggrieved  or  oppressed  by  the  appoint- 
ment made  by  the  bisho.p,  he  should  have  the  privilege  of 
appealing  to  the  Conference,  which  should  consider  and 
finally  determine   the  matter" — this  resolution  was  lost — 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  223 

whereupon  he  withdrew  from  the  M.  E.  Church  and  formed 
a  connection  that  was  called  "  Republican  Methodists."  This 
was  the  first  secession  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
In  the  Southern  District  of  Virginia,  Mr.  O'Kelly  had  con- 
siderable influence,  and  here  he  and  his  followers  produced 
much  confusion  among  the  Methodists,  but  never  spread  very 
far  over  the  country ;  and,  at  this  day,  they  are  known  only 
in  history.  Mr.  Asbury  had  his  last  interview  with  Mr. 
O'Kelly  in  Winchester,  Va.,  in  1802.  They  met  in  peace, 
asked  of  each  other's  welfare,  prayed  together,  and  parted 
in  peace. 

Of  the  preachers  that  were  influenced  by  Mr.  O'Kelly's 
views  of  church  government,  and  the  power  that  a  Method- 
ist Bishop  should  possess,  the  Rev.  William  M'Kendree  was 
one,  who  sent  his  resignation  in  writing  to  Mr.  Asbury  in 
1792.  But,  as  the  District  Conference  agreed  to  let  the 
displeased  preachers  continue  to  preach  among  the  Method- 
ists, provided  they  were  quiet,  and  would  not  excite  division, 
Mr.  M'Kendree  soon  became  convalescent,  and  sixteen  years 
after  this  was  elected  and  ordained  a  Bishop  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church. 

Mr.  Richard  Ivy  was  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Virginia. 
In  1782,  he  was  preaching  in  West  Jersey,  where,  as  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Ware  informs  us,  a  company  of  American 
soldiers  with  their  officers  came  to  one  of  his  appointments 
to  arrest  him.  The  officers  crossed  their  swords  on  the  table 
on  which  he  rested  his  hymn-book  and  Bible,  behind  which 
he  stood  to  preach,  and  before  it  they  were  seated  to  learn 
whether  he  was  a  friend  to  his  country  or  not.  Before  he 
ended  his  discourse,  he  opened  his  bosom  with  his  hands,  and 
addressed  them  thus :  "  Sirs,  I  would  fain  show  you  my 
heart.  If  it  beats  not  high  for  legitimate  liberty,  may  it 
ever  cease  to  beat."  Such  was  the  power  of  his  appeal  that 
the  officers  hung  their  heads  and  trembled — the  Methodists 
sobbed  and  cried  amen — and  the  soldiers  in  the  yard  swung 
their  hats  and  huzzaed  for  the  Methodist  parson.  The  vic- 
tory was  on  the  Lord's  side.  When  the  Church  was  orga- 
nized, he  was  one  of  the  original  elders.  As  a  Methodist 
preacher  he  was  known  from  Jersey  to  Georgia.  He  pos- 
sessed quick  and  solid  parts  —  was  a  holy,  self-denying 
Christian  that  lived  to  be  useful.  Much  of  the  eighteen 
years  that  he  was  in  the  work,  he  acted  as  an  elder  at  the 
head  of  a  district.  He  located  in  1794,  to  take  care  of  his 
aged  mother,  and  died  in  peace  in  1795. 

Mr.  John  Major  was  a  Virginian — a  Christian  full  of  faith 


224  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1778. 

and  the  Holy  Ghost.  As  a  preacher  he  was  armed  with  the 
force  of  feeling  and  the  power  of  tears,  and  his  hearers  were 
constrained  to  acknowledge  that,  "  The  melted  is  the  melting 
heart."  He  often  wept  from  the  beginning  to  the  ending 
of  his  discourses,  and  was  known  in  his  day  as  the  "  Weep- 
ing Prophet;"  and,  although  his  abilities  as  an  expounder 
of  the  Word  were  not  great,  yet  such  was  the  power  of  his 
soul  over  his  hearers,  that  his  usefulness  was  seldom  equalled  : 
by  speaking  for  a  few  minutes  he  often  produced  a  happier 
effect  than  others  by  their  most  intellectual,  lengthy,  and 
labored  efforts.  His  voice  was  frequently  lost  in  the  cries 
of  his  deeply  affected  hearers.  Those  who  made  no  preten- 
sions to  religion  loved  this  good  man  almost  as  much  as  the 
Methodists  themselves.  He  was  among  the  first  missionaries 
that  the  Methodists  sent  to  Georgia.  After  ten  years  of 
usefulness  in  the  itinerancy  he  died  a  witness  of  perfect  love 
in  1788 ;  and  was  interred  at  Brother  Herbert's,  above 
Augusta.  After  he  was  buried,  a  poor  sinner  was  standing 
at  his  grave,  looking  on  and  reflecting,  and  thought  that  he 
heard  the  voice  of  God  calling  him  through  the  medium 
of  Brother  Major  to  repentance  —  he  was  awakened  and 
obtained  religion.     "He  being  dead  yet  speaketh." 

Mr.  Henry  Willis  was  born  in  Brunswick  county,  Va. 
His  natural  and  acquired  abilities  w^ere  of  a  high  order. 
Well  satisfied  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  called  him  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  he  felt  it  incumbent  on  him  to  con- 
tinue in  it,  as  his  health  and  strength  permitted,  until  death. 
He  was  the  first  preacher  that  Mr.  Asbury  ordained  deacon 
and  elder,  after  he  was  set  apart  to  the  Episcopal  office ; 
he  was  ordained  in  Virginia,  soon  after  the  Christmas  Con- 
ference, as  Mr.  Asbury  was  journeying  to  the  South — having 
been  elected  to  these  offices  at  the  Conference,  at  which  he 
was  not  present.  In  confirming  these  orders,  the  bishop 
had  a  choice  subject  on  which  to  commence  the  laying  on  of 
hands ;  no  preacher  stood  higher  in  Mr.  Asbury's  estimation 
than  Henry  Willis. 

He  accompanied  Mr.  Asbury  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and 
assisted  in  introducing  Methodism  into  that  wicked  place. 
Mr.  Asbury  left  him  in  charge  of  a  division  of  the  work.  He 
was  regarded  by  the  heads  of  the  Church  as  a  great  man  of 
God,  who  was  known  and  honored  throughout  the  Methodist 
connection.  In  1790,  his  health  having  failed  so  far  as  to 
unfit  him  for  the  duties  of  a  travelling  preacher,  he  came  to 
Philadelphia,  to  go  into  business  ;  but  he  did  not  remain 
many  years  in  this  city.     In  1791  he  stands  in  the  Minutes 


1778.]  IN   AMERICA.  225 

as  stationed  in  charge  of  Philadelphia.  The  same  in  1792. 
In  1793  he  was  associated  with  Mr.  Dickins,  in  the  book 
business,  in  this  city.  He  lingered  on  for  several  years, 
sometimes  apparently  near  death,  and  then  reviving  again, 
supported  by  Christian  fortitude  :  while  the  happiness  of  his 
soul  beamed  forth  in  his  open,  smiling  countenance.  In 
1801  he  was  settled  at  Pipe  Creek,  the  original  spot  of 
Methodism.  Here  he  remained  till  the  early  part  of  1808, 
when,  with  unshaken  confidence  in  God,  and  triumphant 
faith  in  the  Saviour,  he  left  the  world.  The  first  time  that 
Bishop  Asbury  was  at  Pipe  Creek,  after  his  death,  he  walked 
to  his  grave,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do,  when  he  could  no 
more  look  upon  those  he  ardently  loved,  and  uttered  the  follow- 
ing soliloquy  over  his  sleeping  remains  : — "  Henry  Willis,  ah  ! 
when  shall  I  look  upon  thy  like  again  ?  Rest,  man  of  God  ! 
Thy  quiet  dust  is  not  called  to  the  labor  of  riding  five  thou- 
sand miles  in  eight  months — to  meet  ten  Conferences,  from 
Maine  to  Cayuga — to  the  Mississippi,  to  Cape  Fear.  Thou 
wilt  not  labor,  and  plan  the  stations  of  seven  hundred 
preachers,  nor  attend  camp-meetings,  and  take  part,  daily, 
in  the  ministration  of  the  Word,  and  consume  the  hours  that 
ought  to  be  devoted  to  sleep,  in  writing  letter  upon  letter." 

At  the  Conference  of  1778,  Mr.  Philip  Gatch  took  a  location. 
When  he  went  to  Virginia,  persecution  did  not  rage  to  the 
same  extent,  but  his  health  soon  failed,  from  excessive  labor 
and  exposure  to  the  open  air,  in  field  preaching ;  so  that  at 
the  Conference,  in  1778,  he  received  no  appointment ;  and 
Jan.  14,  1778,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Smith,  of  Pow- 
hatan county,  daughter  of  Thomas  Smith.  She,  with  her 
father's  family,  was  the  first  fruits  of  the  reformation  in 
Virginia.  Though  he  received  no  regular  appointment  after 
this  time,  he  had  the  superintendence  of  some  of  the  circuits 
in  the  vicinity  of  his  residence,  and  spent  a  considerable 
time  in  travelling  and  preaching  at  large,  until  the  stability 
of  the  work,  and  the  cares  of  his  family,  reconciled  his  mind 
to  a  more  circumscribed  sphere. 

When  the  controversy  arose  which  led  to  the  present 
organization  of  the  Church,  he  was  one  of  three  who 
superintended  the  southern  part  of  the  work,  and  to  whom 
the  present  state  of  things  in  part  is  to  be  attributed  ;  Reuben 
Ellis  and  John  Dickins  were  the  other  two.  He  was  the 
mover  and  vindicator  of  the  rule  for  trying  members  by  a 
committee ;  and  from  his  labors  in  the  business  department, 
and  in  the  pulpit,  it  may  be  said,  he  bore  the  burden  and 
heat  of  the  day. 


226  RISE  OP  METHomsM  [1778-9. 

Four  of  the  preachers  who  entered  the  itinerancy  this 
year,  were  preachers  of  note.  John  Major  was  universally 
beloved  and  useful — remarkable  for  tenderness  and  tears. 
Richard  Joy  stood  high  as  a  Christian,  and  as  a  preacher. 
Henry  Willis  was  unequalled,  in  the  judgment  of  high 
authority.  James  O'Kelly  was  a  warm  Southern  man,  and 
a  warm,  zealous  preacher,  that  acquired  great  influence  in 
the  South.  He  did  much  good,  while  he  continued  in  the 
ranks  with  Asbury ;  and  when  he  withdrew,  he  used  his 
influence  to  raise  a  party,  and  for  a  while  he  had  success ; 
but,  as  little  trees  cannot  prosper  in  the  shade  of  large  ones, 
Mr.  O'Kelly's  plant  withered  away,  in  the  shade  of  the  older 
and  stouter  Methodist  Episcopal  tree. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


Ix  the  beginning  of  the  year  1779,  Mr.  Asbury  went  into 
a  little  circuit  that  had  just  been  formed  in  the  eastern  side 
of  Kent  county,  reaching  from  Mispillion  to  Duck  Creek. 
After  preaching  at  Mr.  Lewis's,  Mr.  Beyer's.  Dover,  Hil- 
liard's,  Richard  Shaw's,  William  Thomas's,  and  Widow  Jack- 
son's, he  held  quarterly  meeting  at  Mr.  Shaw's.  At  this 
meeting  there  was  much  feeling,  and  many  were  seeking  the 
Saviour. 

About  this  time,  Mr.  Asbury  heard  some  agreeable  news ; 
which,  probably,  was,  "  That  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Rankin  in  1777,  in  which  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
Americans  would  become  a  free  and  independent  nation, 
and  that  he  was  too  much  knit  in  aS*ection  to  many  of  them 
to  leave  them ;  and  that  Methodist  preachers  had  a  great 
work  to  do  under  God,  in  this  country,"  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  American  officers,  and  had  produced  a  great 
change  in  their  opinions  and  feelings  towards  him.  His 
excellency,  Caesar  Rodney,  Governor  of  Delaware,  aware  of 
this,  was  quite  favorable  to  him  and  the  Methodists. 

The  1st  of  April,  1779,  Mr.  Garrettson  was  led  by  Divine 
Providence  into  the  region  of  the  Cypress  Swamp,  in  Sussex 
county,  Delaware,  to  a  place  called  the  Sound.  After  preach- 
ing five  or  six  sermons,  that  were  as  a  hammer  and  a  fire, 
to  break  and  melt  the  hearts  of  the  people,  he  read  and 
explained  the  rules  of  the  Methodists;  and  examined  and 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  227 

admitted  about  forty  weeping  penitents  into  a  society,  which 
has  continued  ever  since.  The  people  were  so  much  in- 
terested in  hearing  him  preach,  that  tliey  came  ten  and 
twelve  miles  on  foot,  and  followed  him  to  his  lodgings,  ask- 
ing, "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Here,  opposition  to 
Metliodism  pursued  a  milder  course  than  at  some  other 
places ;  a  man  set  up  a  reading  society,  to  read  the  people 
into  experimental  Christianity ;  but  he  was  soon  so  thoroughly 
awakened,  that  he  dropped  his  opposition,  and  joined  the 
Methodists.  The  church  people  hired  one  of  their  ministers 
to  preach  them  down ;  after  he  had  preached  one  sermon, 
he  met  with  Mr.  Garrettson,  from  whom  he  learned  what 
Methodism  was ;  whereupon,  he  threw  up  his  contract,  and 
never  preached  against  them  any  more. 

About  this  time,  Mr.  Garrettson  wandered  about  one  whole 
day,  seeking  an  opening  for  the  word,  and  found  himself 
lost  in  the  Cypress  Swamp.  As  he  was  about  to  take  up 
his  lodgings  on  the  ground,  the  night  being  dark  and  wet, 
he  saw  a  light  at  a  distance,  and  making  for  it,  found  a  house, 
where  he  was  sheltered.  His  host,  observing  him  closely, 
and  possibly  suspecting  that  he  might  be  entertaining  an 
angel,  asked  him,  "  What  are  you,  or  who  are  you  ?  for  I 
am  sure  I  never  saw  such  a  man  as  you  appear  to  be ;"  and 
was  answered,  "I  am  a  follower  of  our  blessed  Saviour." 
They  then  united  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  retired  to  rest. 
The  woman  of  the  house  had  passed  through  a  strange 
affliction ;  for  thirteen  days  she  neither  ate  nor  drank. 
Many  people  came  to  see  her  die,  when  suddenly  she  rose 
up  in  bed,  and  said,  "  You  thought  that  mine  was  a  disorder 
of  the  body  ;  but  it  was  not,  now  I  know  that  my  Maker 
loves  me."  She  declared  that  she  "  loved  the  Lord,  prayed 
always,  knew  what  kind  of  death  she  was  to  die,  and 
that  she  would  go  to  heaven  when  she  died ;  that  she 
knew  that  Mr.  Garrettson  was  a  man  of  God,  one  whom  the 
Lord  had  sent  to  reform  the  world."  She  was  a  very  serious 
woman,  and  appeared  to  be  sensibly  in  the  favor  of  God. 

In  many  of  the  newly  settled  portions  of  America,  the 
people  had  heard  but  little  preaching  until  the  Methodist 
preachers  came  among  them.  In  some  parts  of  the  Penin- 
sula, the  people  had  no  religion  at  all.  Mr.  Garrettson 
informs  us  that  he  met  with  a  man  in  the  region  of  the  Cypress 
Swamp,  "  and  asked  him  if  he  was  acquainted  with  Jesus 
Christ.  '  Sir,'  said  he,  '  I  know  not  where  the  gentleman 
lives.'  Lest  he  should  have  misunderstood  me,  I  repeated 
my  question,  and  he   answered,  '  I  know  not   the  man.' " 


228  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1779. 

In  these  very  regions,  where  there  was  the  greatest  destitu- 
tion of  religion,  the  people  -were  generally  the  readiest  to 
embrace  the  Saviour,  when  the  Methodists  came  among  them  ; 
and  these  moral  wastes  were  soon  filled  with  their  zealous 
followers.  Mr.  Garrettson  established  several  preaching 
places  in  this  region  ;  such  as  Grey's,  West's,  Wood's,  and 
Evans's ;  and  about  1785,  the  Sound  Chapel  was  founded. 
It  was  the  third  chapel  in  the  county,  following  W^hite 
Brown's,  in  N.  W.  Fork,  and  Moore's,  in  Broad  Creek. 

The  Conference  for  the  Northern  Stations  was  held  at 
Judge  White's,  April  28,  1779,  Mr.  Asbury  presiding; 
there  was  much  prayer,  love,  and  harmony,  and  all  the 
preachers  present  agreed  to  walk  by  the  same  rule.  We  may 
gather  from  the  Minutes  that  the  following  preachers  attended 
this  Conference  : — Francis  Asbury,  William  Watters,  Daniel 
Ruff,  John  Cooper,  Freeborn  Garrettson,  Joseph  Hartley, 
Thomas  M'Clure,  Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  William  Gill,  Thomas 
S.  Chew,  Joseph  Cromwell,  Philip  Cox,  Joshua  Dudley, 
Lewis  Alfree,  Richard  Garrettson,  and  Micaijah  Debruler. 

It  was  held  for  the  convenience  of  the  preachers  in  the 
North,  to  give  all  an  opportunity  of  meeting  in  Conference, 
and  was  considered  as  preparatory  to  the  Conference  in  Vir- 
ginia, that  was  held  at  the  Broken-back  Church  in  Fluvanna 
county.  May  18,  1779.  The  Rev.  William  Watters  was 
sent  from  the  Delaware  Conference  to  represent  its  senti- 
ments in  the  Virginia  Conference.  The  question  of  admin- 
istering the  ordinances,  that  had  been  laid  over  at  the  Deer 
Creek  Conference  in  1777,  and  also  laid  over  at  the  Lees- 
burg  Conference  in  1778,  came  up,  and  after  discussion,  was 
carried  in  the  affirmative  at  the  Fluvanna  Conference.  As 
"  hope  deferred  makes  the  heart  sick,"  these  brethren,  seeing 
no  prospect  in  the  darkness  of  surrounding  circumstances 
of  obtaining  them  from  Mr.  Wesley,  went  to  work  to  help 
themselves.  They  set  apart  some  of  their  oldest  preachers 
to  travel  through  the  work  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
and  administer  the  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  eucharist, 
and  perform  the  marriage  ceremony.  These  brethren  had 
nothing  in  view  in  the  course  they  pursued,  but  the  good  of 
the  people  that  had  been  brought  to  God  under  their  ministry ; 
and  who  greatly  desired  to  receive  the  ordinances  from  their 
spiritual  guides.  The  measure,  however,  was  regarded  by 
Mr.  Asbury,  and  all  that  agreed  with  him,  as  an  innovation 
of  Methodism,  and  it  lasted  but  one  year ;  for  at  their  next 
Conference  they  agreed  to  suspend  them  for  a  year;  and 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  229 

consulted  Mr.  AYesley,  by  whose  judgment  they  would  abide; 
they  were  not  resumed  again  till  Dr.  Coke  came  in  1784. 

On  the  Minutes  of  1779,  Mitichen,  which  was,  probably, 
in  New  Jersey,  near  Newark,  appears  as  a  new  circuit.  On 
the  Peninsula,  Delaware.  In  Virginia,  Mecklenbury  substi- 
tutes Lunenburg.  In  North  Carolina,  New  Hope  and  Tar 
River.  Philadelphia  was  coupled  with  New  Jersey,  and  Ches- 
ter circuit  was  restored  to  the  Minutes.  There  were  19  cir- 
cuits, on  which  44  preachers  were  stationed.  There  were  a 
few  Methodists  in  New  York,  who  were  not  returned  this 
year.  For  New  Jersey,  the  return  was  140  members;  for 
Pennsylvania,  179  ;  for  Delaware,  795 ;  Maryland,  nearly 
1900  ;  Virginia,  nearly  3800 ;  and  for  North  Carolina,  about 
1500  ;  making  a  total  of  about  8300;  the  increase  was  more 
than  3000.  The  greatest  prosperity  during  the  Conference 
year  of  1778,  was  on  the  Peninsula,  and  in  North  Carolina. 

In  the  Minutes  of  1779,  Mr.  Asbury  stands  for  Delaware, 
having  for  his  colleagues,  C.  B.  Pedicord,  Freeborn  Garrett- 
son,  Lewis  Alfree,  and  Micaijah  Debruler. 

In  May,  1779,  a  great  work  commenced  in  the  region  of 
St.  Johnstown,  in  Sussex  county,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death 
of  a  young  man,  whose  name  was  John  Laws.  In  his  sick- 
ness he  was  made  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  true  reli- 
gion, and  his  experience  and  testimony  wrought  power- 
fully on  his  family  and  neighbors,  who  had  never  heard  from 
a  dying  man  such  "  burning  words"  of  victory,  or  seen  such 
triumph  over  death,  as  he  exhibited.  Many  were  influenced 
by  his  exhortations  to  reform  their  lives  and  seek  the  Lord. 
Mr.  Asbury  had  visited  him  in  his  sickness,  and  had  been 
instrumental  in  his  conversion  to  God,  and  preached  his 
funeral  to  about  a  thousand  people.  Preaching  was  continued 
at  William  Laws',  where  a  society  was  raised  up  this  year, 
which  is  still  represented  at  St.  Johnstown  : — here  the  Meth- 
odists built  a  chapel  six  or  eight  years  after  this. 

In  June,  1779,  Mr.  Asbury  went  into  New  Castle  county; 
and  for  the  first  time  preached  at  Lewis  Alfree's,  who  was 
one  of  his  colleagues.  The  remainder  of  this  year  was  spent 
by  Mr.  Asbury  in  preaching  in  the  state  of  Delaware.  As 
he  was  considerably  afflicted,  he,  in  company  with  Mr.  Alfree, 
paid  one  or  two  visits  to  Lewistown  and  the  seashore  for  the 
purpose  of  bathing,  which  he  found  of  great  benefit. 

A  Mr.  Wolf,  at  Lewistown,  Delaware,  had  given  Mr.  Gar- 

rettson  an  invitation  to  come  among  them,  and  met  him  about 

Mispillion,  and   conducted   him   to  his  house.     The  people 

between  Slaughter  Neck  and  Lewistown  had  never  seen  a 

20 


230  RISE   OF    METH0DIS3I  [1779. 

Methodist  preacher,  and  had  some  curiosity  as  to  his  genus. 
On  the  6th  of  July,  1779,  knowing  that  one  was  to  pass  through 
that  region,  they  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  one.  As  Mr. 
Grarrettson passed  their  door,  some  said,  "  There  he  is."  Others 
said,  "  0,  he  is  like  another  man."  Arriving  in  Lewistown,  he 
began  to  preach  in  Mr.  Wolf's  house.  Soon  his  brother,  J.  Wolf, 
came  with  a  gun  and  drum ;  and  after  beating  his  drum,  he 
seemed  to  be  pointing  his  gun  to  shoot  the  preacher.  The  female 
part  of  the  congregation  was  alarmed,  and  Mr.  Garrettson 
stopped  preaching.  Soon  the  town-squire  came  and  ordered 
the  persecutor  to  retire,  under  a  threat  of  imprisonment,  and 
the  sermon  was  finished.  The  court-house  being  offered,  Mr. 
Garrettson  went  there  to  preach  ;  but  was  followed  by  Wolf,* 
backed  by  others,  who  made  up  great  fires  to  drive  the  peo- 
ple away  by  heat.  Failing  in  this,  he  rang  a  bell  through 
the  house  to  drown  the  speaker's  voice;  a  large  private  room 
being  offered,  the  people  retired  to  it,  and  the  discourse  was 
finished  there. 

This  was  not  all  the  opposition  the  Methodists  met  with 
at  Lewistown.  The  Presbyterian  minister  who  heard  Mr. 
Garrettson's  first  sermon  there,  told  some  of  the  people,  that 
he  held  forth  nineteen  errors.  It  appears,  that  he  proclaimed 
a  fast  to  find  out  who  commissioned  Methodist  preachers ; 
and  made  the  discovery,  that  they  were  not  "  sent  and 
ordained  of  God,"  and,  therefore,  must  be  sent  by  the  devil. 
But,  notwithstanding  this  opposition  from  the  wicked,  and 
from  the  ministers,  the  people  searched  their  Bibles,  and 
found  that  the  Methodists  preached  Bible-truth,  and  many 
of  them  believed,  and  a  society  was  raised  up  that  still 
continues.  It  was  more  than  twenty  strong  in  number,  in 
about  one  year's  time. 

On  the  following  Sabbath  Mr.  Garrettson  preached  in 
Lewistown  ;  and  went  to  preach  by  the  side  of  a  river,  where 
the  wicked  threatened  to  drown  him.  But  no  one  molested 
him.  Going  to  another  appointment  he  was  overtaken  by  a 
man  in  soldier's  dress,  armed  with  a  club,  who  said  he  had 
come  twenty  miles  to  defend  him.  Having  heard  Mr, 
Garrettson  preach  at  some  other  place,  and  believing  his 
doctrine,  he  declared  his  readiness  to  go  with  him  a  thousand 
miles  to  protect  him. 

*  It  appears  that  Heaven's  frown  rested  upon  him  :  he  lost  all  his 
property  and  ended  his  days  in  the  almshouse  of  the  county.  His  wife 
lived  and  died  a  ji;ood  Methodist ;  and  his  son,  who  for  many  years  kept 
an  excellent  hotel  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  was  as  kind  to  Methodist 
preachers  as  his  father  was  hostile  to  them. 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  281 

Mr.  Garrettson  spent  several  days  preaching  in  the  forest 
of  Sussex  county,  and  the  Lord  awakened  many  by  his 
ministry.  The  next  Methodist  preacher  that  travelled  over 
this  ground,  was  the  lovely  Pedicord  ;  and,  whether  the 
"Lord,"  or  the  '^  devil"  sent  them,  there  has  been  a  succes- 
sion of  them,  till  the  present  time. 

Mr.  Garrettson  next  returned  to  the  Forks,  and  preached 
at  a  house  in  the  edge  of  Dorchester  county,  to  a  large 
congregation,  and  continued  his  discourse  two  or  three 
hours;  for  the  Lord  was  working  powerfully  among  the 
people.  After  he  had  concluded,  a  magistrate  made  an 
attempt  to  send  him  to  jail.  The  sheriff  came  with  his 
writ ;  but  Mr.  Garrettson  looking  him  in  the  face,  let  him 
know  he  was  ''going  on  the  Lord's  errand,"  and  Avhat  the 
consequence  would  be  to  him,  if  he  persisted  in  fighting 
against  God.  While  the  sheriff  was  listening  to  him  his 
countenance  fell,  and  he  replied,  "It  is  a  pity  to  stop  you," 
and  Mr.  Garrettson  went  on  his  way. 

It  was  in  1779  that  he  performed  that  successful  Sabbath- 
day's  labor  recorded  on  the  91st  page  of  his  Life.  "  He 
preached  in  Dover  a  little  after  sunrise.  At  nine,  to  hun- 
dreds who  stood  and  sat  under  the  trees  at  Brother  Boyer's, 
where  God's  power  was  greatly  displayed.  At  one  o'clock, 
to  a  listening  multitude  under  the  trees  in  Murder-kill.  His 
fourth  sermon  was  preached  at  Brother  Williams's,  in  Mis- 
pillion,  where  he  seemed  to  have  greater  liberty  than  at 
either  of  the  other  places.  A  Quaker  preacher,  who  heard 
this  last  discourse,  said  that  he  'spoke  by  the  Spirit,  if  ever 
man  did.'  But  on  hearing  that  it  was  his  fourth  sermon 
that  day,  said  he  'was  a  deceiver,  for  it  was  nothing  but 
will-worship.'  He  spake  six  hours  in  delivering  the  four 
sermons ;  and  scarcely  felt  any  fatigue,  though  he  had  taken 
only  a  little  milk  and  w^ater  for  nourishment.  It  seemed 
that  thousands  were  flocking  to  Jesus."  There  is  one  indi- 
vidual (and  probably  but  one)  still  living  who  heard  these 
four  discourses,  sevent^^-five  years  ago — and  that  is  Judge 
Davis,  of  Smyrna. 

Since  the  above  was  written  Mr.  Isaac  Davis  has  died, 
aged  ninety-two  or  three  years.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Methodists  between  seventy  and  eighty  years.  He  was  kind 
in  his  house ;  and  abounded  in  good  sense  and  in  this  world's 
goods. 

During  this  year,  in  North-west  Fork,  Sussex  county, 
Del.,  Mr.  Garrettson  came  to  Mr.  Brown's  to  preach  on 
Sunday.    All  the  morning  he  was  harassed  by  the  enemy — 


232  RISE  or  METHODISM  [1779. 

the  Bible  seemed  too  small  to  afford  him  a  text — a  large 
congregation  assembled,  to  whom  he  preached  with  gi-eat 
liberty  and  effect  under  the  trees.  A  brother  of  White 
Brown  was  at  this  meeting ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  as  Mr. 
Garrettson  and  about  thirty  of  his  friends  were  going  to  Mr. 
Turpin's  to  meeting,  this  man,  urged  on  by  the  sons  of 
Belial,  who  were  with  him,  waylaid  and  presented  a  loaded 
gun  at  him,  and  ordered  him  to  stop.  The  company,  many 
of  whom  were  women,  were  off  of  their  horses  in  an  instant. 
Brown's  sister  being  in  the  company,  seized  the  gun  and 
arrested  him  in  his  evil  course.  This  wicked  man,  soon  after 
this,  became  a  penitent,  and  joined  the  Methodist  society. 

In  1779,  Mr.  Hartley,  being  shut  up  in  jail  in  Easton, 
during  the  months  of  August  and  September,  saw  the  arm 
of  the  Lord  made  bare  in  that  town,  in  raising  up  a  Meth- 
odist society :  this  fixes  the  date  of  Methodism  in  Easton. 
He  was  kept  in  confinement  almost  three  months.  While 
in  prison  he  preached  through  the  grates  of  the  windows  to 
the  people  who  assembled  around  the  jail.  Many  were 
awakened,  and  brought  to  seek  the  Lord ;  thus  was  a 
Methodist  society  raised  up  at  Easton,  which  still  continues. 
At  first,  no  doubt,  the  people  came  to  his  prison  through 
curiosity,  to  see  one  of  those  wonderful  men  that  were 
turning  the  world  upside  down,  when  he  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity and  preached  unto  them  Jesus.  But  it  very  soon 
became  a  custom  for  those  who  wished  to  hear,  and  who  were 
under  concern  for  their  souls,  to  assemble  daily,  to  receive 
instructions  from  him,  as  to  how  they  could  be  saved.  His 
enemies  seeing  that  they  were  furthering  the  cause,  they 
wished  to  arrest ;  and  fearing  he  would  convert  the  whole 
town  and  country,  took  bail  of  him  and  discharged  him. 
The  magistrate  that  committed  him  to  jail  was  taken  sick 
unto  death,  and  sent  to  the  prison  for  him  to  come  and  pray 
with  and  for  him  ;  and  made  this  confession  "  When  I  sent 
you  to  jail  I  was  fighting  against  God ;  my  conscience  told 
me  I  was  doing  wrong,  and  now  I  am  about  to  leave  the 
world,  pray  for  me."  To  the  bystanders  he  said,  "Do  not 
think  that  I  am  out  of  my  senses,  or  ignorant  of  what  I  am 
saying.  This  is  a  servant  of  God,  and  I  request  that  he 
may  preach  my  funeral,  for  he  preaches  the  true  faith." 
He  then  requested  his  wife  and  children  to  embrace  Method- 
ism ;  and  desired  Mr.  Hartley  to  take  charge  of  his  family. 
As  this  man  evidently  died  a  true  penitent,  making  all  the 
restitution  he  could  for  the  wrong  which  he  had  done  ;  and 
had  he  lived,  would,  in  all  likelihood,  have  become  a  Method- 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  233 

ist ;  we  will,  tlierefore,  hope  that  he  and  Mr.  Hartley  have 
long  since  met  in  a  happier  world. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Hartley  came  out  of  jail  he  married  a 
pious  young  lady  of  Talbot  county.  After  preaching  for  a 
short  time  in  Delaware  state,  he  located  in  1781,  and  settled 
in  Talbot  county,  near  the  bay-side.  Mr.  Asbury  observed 
of  him,  "  I  find  the  care  of  a  wife  begins  to  humble  my 
young  friend,  and  makes  him  very  teachable:  I  have  thought 
he  always  carried  great  sail;  but  he  will  have  ballast  now." 
Mr.  Asbury  preached  at  his  house  in  1783.  Mr.  Garrettson 
says,  "  He  did  not  live  long  after  he  located — was  an  excel- 
lent preacher,  very  useful,  and  went  to  glory  when  he  died." 
He  was  buried  in  Talbot  county,  Md. 

During  the  first  age  of  American  Methodism,  the  Quarterly 
^Meeting  was  the  great  meeting.  It  attracted  the  Methodists 
from  a  distance;  and  was  looked  to  as  a  season  of  uncommon 
spiritual  benefit ;  and  often  did  they  realize  in  these  meet- 
ings their  highest  expectations.  At  one  of  these  meetings 
held  this  year  near  Dover,  probably  at  Mr.  Shaw's,  there 
were  said  to  be  present  six  or  seven  hundred  people,  from 
Somerset,  Sussex,  Caroline,  Queen  Anne's,  Kent,  and  New 
Castle  counties,  and  some  from  Philadelphia, — a  distance  of 
seventy-five  miles.  When  camp  meetings  came  up,  they 
were  the  great  meetings :  they  sunk  the  character  of  quar- 
terly meetings ;  and  they,  in  turn,  were  sunk  by  four  days 
and  protracted  meetings ;  and  now,  the  Methodists  have  no 
meetings  that  attract  and  interest  the  people  as  the  above- 
named  did. 

It  was  during  this  year  Mr.  Asbury's  acquaintance  began 
with  Dr.  M'Gaw.  There  was  friendship  and  intimacy  be- 
tween them  as  long  as  they  both  lived.  Both  Messrs.  Asbury 
and  Garrettson  speak  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  good  service 
the  Doctor  rendered  them,  and  the  cause  of  Methodism. 
Through  Mr.  M'Gaw's  friendship,  some  of  the  preachers 
g.iined  access  to  a  number  of  families  that  became  Method- 
ists. Soon  after  this  the  Doctor  became  Rector  of  St. 
Paul's  Church  in  Philadelphia.  The  first  Sabbath  that 
Dr.  Coke  spent  in  America,  he  preached  once  for  Dr.  M'Gaw, 
at  St.  Paul's,  and  once  at  St.  George's.  When  Bishop  Coke 
and  Bishop  Asbury  preached  in  this  city,  the  Doctor  was 
generally  one  of  the  hearers. 

On  a  quarterly  meeting  occasion  this  year  in  Dr.  Edward 

White's    barn,    attended    by    Messrs.    Asbury,    Garrettson, 

Ruff,    Hartley,    and    M'Clure,    there    were    present,     also, 

three    clergymen,   Mr.   Neal,    Dr.   M'Gaw,    of    Dover,    and 

20* 


234  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1779. 

parson  Thorn  of  the  ohl  church  that  stood  north  of  Milford, 
aiding  the  Methodists  in  friendship.  Just  as  this  meeting 
closed,  Dr.  White's  son,  a  bov  six  years  old,  fell  into  the  well, 
but  was  mercifully  preserved  from  falling  head  foremost  by 
his  sister.  When  he  reached  the  water  he  clung  to  the  sides 
of  the  well  until  his  father  went  down  and  brought  him  up 
with  thanksgiving. 

In  1779,  a  chapel  was  erected  and  opened  for  worship  by 
Dr.  M'Gaw,  the  minister  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
at  Dover.  It  was  called  the  "Forest  Chapel,"  and  was  the 
first  meeting-house  that  the  Methodists  had  in  Delaware 
state.     It  was  afterwards  called  "  Thomas's  Chapel." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


In  the  fall  of  this  year,  Mr.  Garrettson  came  to  Philadel- 
phia to  resuscitate  Methodism,  after  the  British  army  had 
left  it.  After  laboring  from  August  to  October  in  the  city, 
being  succeeded  by  Mr.  Cox,  he  visited  Chester  Circuit ;  and 
then  went  to  New  Jersey,  where  he  rejoiced  over  some 
remarkable  conversions  :  one  was  a  man  one  hundred  and  one 
years  old ;  the  other  was  Achsah  Borden,  who  was  raised  a 
Friend,  was  very  serious,  and  read  the  Bible  much  while  she 
was  young.  One  day,  while  reading  and  meditating,  a  flood 
of  heavenly  light  and  comfort  flowed  into  her  soul,  and  she 
cried  out,  "  Sweet  Jesus ;"  and  felt  that  Christ  was  her  Sa- 
viour. Her  friends  fearing  that  her  great  seriousness  would 
end  in  melancholy,  gathered  their  friends  together,  and  with 
the  fiddle  and  dancing,  endeavored  to  rouse  her  out  of  her 
seriousness.  She  was  prevailed  upon  to  go  into  sinful  amuse- 
ments, until  she  was  galvanized  into  gay  life.  But,  remem- 
bering her  former  happiness,  a  deep  gloom  soon  came  over 
her  soul ;  and  her  speech  failed  her,  and  she  spoke  in  broken 
accents  with  difiiculty,  and  soon  lost  all  power  of  speech, 
and  a  dumb  spirit  seemed  to  possess  her.  She  concluded 
that  it  was  wrong  for  her  to  dress  herself,  or  do  any  kind  of 
work,  or  even  turn  over  a  leaf  of  a  book  that  was  given  her 
to  read.  Her  family  kept  her  locked  up  in  a  room,  removing 
every  instrument  by  which  she  might  destroy  herself,  which, 
however,  she  was  not  tempted  to  do.  It  was  impressed  on 
her  mind  that  there  was  a  people,  about  thirteen  miles  off",  in 


1779]  IN    AMERICA.  235 

New  Mills,  that  prayed  much  and  served  the  Lord;  and  if 
she  could  be  among  them,  they  would  be  the  means  of  restor- 
ing her  speech.  By  signs  she  made  this  known  to  her  rela- 
tions. An  attempt  was  made  to  find  out  this  people,  which 
did  not  succeed.  A  second  attempt  was  successful.  Mr. 
Ruff  being  present,  called  a  meeting,  believing  that  God 
would  cast  out  the  dumb  spirit.  Prayer  was  made  to  God  for 
part  of  three  days,  when  the  Saviour's  love  was  shed  abroad 
in  her  heart ;  and,  after  having  been  dumb  for  two  years,  her 
tongue  was  loosed,  and  she  spake  and  praised  God. 

It  is  said  that  this  took  place  in  the  house  of  Mr.  William 
Budd,  of  New  Mills  ;  and  when  Mrs.  Budd,  who  was  nursing 
her  infant,  heard  Achsah  (who  had  not  spoken  for  two  years) 
speak,  it  so  much  surprised  and  shocked  her,  that  she  came 
near  dropping  the  child  on  the  floor  or  hearth. 

The  grandson  of  Mr.  William  Budd,  named  above  (of  the 
same  name),  who  was  a  leading  member  of  the  Union  M.  E. 
Church  in  this  city,  assured  us  that  he  had  heard  his  mother 
vouch  the  main  facts  in  Achsah  Borden's  case,  and  the  place 
where  they  occurred. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Garrettson  came  to  New  Mills.  He, 
with  a  number  of  Methodists,  accompanied  the  young  woman 
to  her  mother's,  and  were  received  as  angels.  Mr.  Garrett- 
son preached  on  the  occasion,  and  was  listened  to  as  though 
he  had  been  an  apostle.  Many  were  aflfected  by  looking  at 
the  heavenly  countenance  of  Achsah,  who  was  now  able  to 
speak  and  work,  and  was  happy  in  a  Saviour's  love.  Some 
were  ready  to  conclude  that  the  Methodists  could  almost 
work  miracles.  Miss  Borden's  mother  lived  near  Borden- 
town,  and  the  sermon  that  Mr.  Garrettson  preached  with 
such  eflfect,  when  he  accompanied  her  to  her  mother's,  was 
the  first  Methodist  preaching  in  the  place.  See  his  Life, 
pp.  97,  98. 

While  Methodism  was  thus  enlarging  on  the  peninsula,  and 
in  other  places  south  and  west,  it  was  also  making  some  pro- 
gress in  Jersey.  Though  this  part  of  the  work  was  not 
much  attended  to  by  the  travelling  preachers,  while  the  hos- 
tile armies  were  contending  with  each  other  here ;  there  were 
a  few  local  preachers  doing  what  they  could.  At  the  head 
of  these  stood  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott,  who,  for  the  six- 
teen years  that  he  sustained  that  relation  to  Methodism,  was, 
probably,  the  most  available  that  the  Methodists  ever  had. 
He  had  seen  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  under  his  minis- 
try in  the  conversion  of  all  sorts  of  people ;  placid  Friends 
found  a  more  spiritual  religion  than  that  in  which  they  had 


236  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1779. 

been  trained ;  those  who  had  danced  to  the  sound  of  the 
violin,  had  experienced  the  love  of  Christ,  which  "  danced 
their  hearts  for  joy ;"  the  inebriate  had  been  brought  to  beg 
for  mercy  on  his  knees ;  and  the  bigoted  Papist,  in  whose 
*'  fiery  soul  deaths  wandered  like  shadows,"  had  been  changed 
into  the  gentleness  of  the  lamb. 

It  seems  to  have  been  in  the  year  1779,  that  Mr.  Abbott 
made  his  first  preaching  tour  in  Jersey.  The  great  work 
that  was  going  on  under  his  ministry  in  Mannington,  induced 
the  Methodists  of  New  Mills  to  invite  him  to  their  place ; 
here  the  people,  for  the  first  time,  saw  the  great  efi'ects  that 
his  preaching  produced  in  prostrating  the  people.  This  new 
development  alarmed  them  at  first,  but  when  they  saw  the 
slain  revive  as  witnesses  of  God,  they  rejoiced  in  it.  The 
town  became  alarmed  with  the  exultations  of  some  who 
found  the  Lord.  From  New  Mills  he  went  some  miles,  and 
preached  with  great  success  in  a  Presbyterian  church. 
Many  were  awakened,  and  about  twelve  were  born  again. 
One  of  the  deacons  of  the  church  was  regenerated,  and 
became  a  Methodist.  A  very  profane  young  man,  who  was 
called  "swearing  Jack,"  was  awakened,  and  became  a  Chris- 
tian. A  number  of  Indians  being  present,  were  greatly 
affected ;  these  were,  probably,  the  descendants  of  those  for 
whom  Mr.  Brainard  had  labored. 

After  having  a  profitable  meeting  at  Turnip  Hill,  and 
spending  some  time  in  conversation  and  prayer  with  a  family, 
which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  a  soul  to  God,  he  went 
on  his  appointment  and  preached ;  after  which  he  came  to 
Trenton,  where  he  held  meeting  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
as  the  army  was  occupying  the  Methodist  chapel  as  a  stable. 
This  is  the  first  notice  we  meet  with  of  the  Methodists  hav- 
ing a  place  of  worship  in  Trenton. 

He  next  went  among  his  relations,  where  his  conversation 
and  prayers  were  owned  in  bringing  some  of  them  to  the 
Saviour.  His  next  appointment  was  at  S.  F.'s  ;  this  was, 
probably,  at  Brother  Fiddler's,  an  old  Methodist  family  in 
Jersey.  Here  he  had  a  powerful  meeting.  A  captain,  who 
came  with  his  soldiers  to  arrest  Mr.  Abbott,  was  so  power- 
fully arrested  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  as  to  cry  for  mercy. 
After  six  weeks  of  deep  distress,  durincr  which  his  friends 
watched  hmi  that  he  might  not  destroy  himself,  he  became  a 
happy  Christian. 

At  his  next  meeting  one  soul  was  brought  into  gospel 
liberty.  A  Quaker  woman  from  Pennsylvania  had  come  to 
this  meeting  from  a  dream  that  she  had  the  night  before, 


1779.]  IN    AMERICA.  237 

that  two  doves  would  lead  her  to  a  spring  as  clear  as  crystal, 
where  she  might  drink  her  fill.  She  was  awakened,  and 
after  three  days  of  deep  distress,  was  privileged  to  drink  of 
the  water  that  is  not  followed  by  thirst  of  creature  happi- 
ness. Mr.  Abbott  saw  this  spiritual  daughter  of  his  sixteen 
years  after  this,  and  found  her  on  the  way  to  heaven. 

He  next  addressed  a  large  congregation  in  a  meeting-house, 
probably  Hopewell,  that  had  been  erected  by  the  disciples  of 
Mr.  Whitefield,  called  "  Newlights,"  and  stood  about  nine 
miles  from  Trenton.  Being  among  his  relations  he  spent  a  day 
in  conversing  on  the  happy  change  that  he  had  experienced, 
and  recommending  the  same  religion  to  them ;  nor  was  it 
without  a  salutary  eifect — many  tears  were  shed,  and  some 
of  them  were  made  to  taste  the  sweets  of  Jesus'  love.  An 
aunt  of  his  was  convinced  that  she  ought  to  join  the  Meth- 
odist society  by  the  shining  of  a  glorious  light  around  her, 
as  she  was  going  home  from  meeting  one  dark  night. 

His  enemies  having  threatened  to  tar  and  feather  him,  some 
advised  him  not  to  go  to  his  next  appointment.  Undismayed 
by  the  threats  of  the  wicked,  he  went,  and  met  a  large  con- 
gregation, and  no  one  offered  to  do  violence  to  him.  It  was 
a  time  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Abund- 
ance of  tears  were  shed — some  professed  justification,  and 
many  were  stirred  up  to  seek,  by  repentance,  prayer,  and 
faith,  a  saving  interest  in  Christ. 

He  ended  his  labors  on  this  visitation  by  preaching  at  New 
Mills,  where  the  people  came  out  by  hundreds  to  hear  this 
extraordinary  messenger  of  truth  preach  his  farewell  sermon. 
As  the  fruit  of  this  last  discourse,  sixteen  were  justified  and 
two  professed  to  receive  the  blessing  of  perfect  love.  During 
this  tour  of  about  two  weeks  in  Mercer  and  Burlington 
counties,  his  efforts  had  been  crowned  with  the  conversion 
of  nearly  forty  individuals  to  the  Saviour,  while  a  few  had 
professed  the  blessing  of  the  all-cleansing  blood  of  Christ, 
and  a  multitude  had  been  awakened  to  see  and  feel  their 
danger  of  eternal  death  in  consequence  of  sin,  and  of  their 
absolute  need  of  a  saving  interest  in  the  Redeemer,  in  order 
to  a  state  of  everlasting  happiness  with  God  in  heaven. 

Many  ministers  of  the  gospel  cannot  shock  up  as  many 
sheaves  at  the  end  of  the  year  as  Mr.  Abbott  had  from  this 
round  of  two  weeks :  we  may  say  more — the  immediate  and 
mediate  results  of  one  of  his  discourses  were  often  more  avail- 
ing to  the  salvation  of  sinners,  than  the  lifetime  preaching 
of  many  a  so-called  minister  of  the  gospel. 

The  following  lines  on  Mr.  Abbott,  from  the  pen  of  the 


238  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1779. 

Rev.  J.  B.   Haganj,  are  alike  creditable  to  his  head  and 
heart : — 

Ay,  "  such  -was  he,"  a  man  of  God  approved, 

And  what  high  priest  can  ever  equal  this? 

Say  he  knew  not  the  rhetorician's  art 

Of  gesture,  cadences,  and  measured  words, 

To  please  the  fancy,  or  to  charm  the  ear. 

It  was  not  meet  he  should ;   devouring  flame 

Spreads  without  law,  and  rages  unconfined. 

The  gentle  stream,  o'erhung  with  beauteous  flowers, 

Within  its  narrow  banks  may  smoothly  glide. 

But  not  the  giant  flood,  which  spurns  the  shores, 

And,  dashing  lawless,  deluges  the  land. 

The  lightning-flash  that  gilds  the  summer  sky 

At  evening  time  is  harmless ;  the  fiery  bolt 

Tears  the  strong  oak,  and  splits  the  solid  rock. 

The  chieftain's  voice  amidst  the  battle-storm 

Is  not  soft  music  to  the  listening  ear ; 

Neither  was  thine,  0,  Abbott,  but  it  came 

Among  the  alien  armies  like  the  roar 

Of  that  dread  thunder  'mong  the  Philistines, 

When  tremblingly  they  fled  from  Mizpah's  walls. 

"  Such  was  he." 
Science  and  languages  he  never  knew, 
Nor  did  he  need  their  aid.     His  naked  sword, 
Which  knew  no  scabbard  till  the  war  was  past, 
To  do  good  service  in  his  Master's  cause. 
Needed  no  jewelled  handle.     Its  keen  edge, 
Descending  with  the  force  of  giant  might, 
Through  flesh  and  spirit  found  its  devious  way, 
And  hearts  of  stone  might  not  resist  its  stroke. 
Ay,  how  they  trembled  and  confounded  fell, 
Sire  and  son,  the  timid  and  the  brave. 
In  heaps  on  heaps,  like  men  in  battle  slain  ! 

"  Such  was  he." 
A  living  minister  of  saving  truth, 
Mighty  in  word  and  deed,  whose  spirit  still 
Breathes  through  his  truthful  story,  and  inflames 
To  heavenly  zeal  who  reads  the  glowing  page. 

"  Such  was  he." 
Nor  gown  nor  surplice  wrapped  his  brawny  limbs. 
What  needed  he  to  trace  his  high  descent 
Through  mitred  miscreants  in  priestly  robes, 
Through  Lauds*  and  Bonners  to  the  holy  Paul? 

.  *  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  his  grace's  piety.  Archbishop 
Leighton's  father  wrote  against  the  hierarchy,  and  was  tried  for  it  in 
the  star-chamber  court.  He  was  condemned,  of  course,  and  sentenced 
to  the  pillory  at  Westminster,  to  be  publicly  whipped,  to  have  both 
ears  cut  off,  his  nose  slit  on  each  side,  branded  on  the  face  with  a  red- 
hot  iron,  pay  a  fine  of  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  pass  the  remainder 
of  his  life  in  the  Fleet  prison.  When  this  "wholesome"  sentence  Avas 
pronounced,  Laud,  that  true  successor  of  the  apostles,  pulled  ofi"  his 
hat,  and  thanked  God  for  it. — See  Neale's  History  of  the  Puritans. 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  239 

His  clear  credentials  God's  own  j&ngers  wrote, 
And  thousand  witnesses  on  every  side, 
Whom  the  archangel's  dreadful  voice  shall  call 
From  the  grave's  slumbers  on  the  world's  last  day 
To  joyous  resurrection,  sealed  their  truth. 
Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  of  the  Lord  ; 
For  though  to  thee  science  a  stranger  seemed. 
And  learning  never  met  thee  in  her  walks, 
Nor  weaved  her  chaplet  on  thy  stormy  brow. 
Though  bigot  zeal  scorned  thy  untitled  name, 
Yet  lives  that  name,  and  shall  for  ever  live. 
When  stars  and  suns  shall  perish  from  the  sky. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr.  James  Sterling,  of  New 
Jersey,  became  a  Methodist.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott, 
who  appears  to  have  been  the  instrument  of  his  conversion, 
says — "  On  a  Saturday  night,  I  dreamed  that  a  man  came 
to  meeting,  and  stayed  in  class,  and  spoke  as  I  never  had 
heard  any  one  before.  Next  day  James  Sterling  came  to 
meeting,  stayed  in  class,  and  spoke  much  as  I  had  heard  and 
seen  in  my  dream.  After  meeting  I  said  to  my  wife,  that 
was  the  very  man  I  had  seen  in  my  dream,  and  the  Lord 
would  add  him  to  his  church.  Soon  after  he  was  thoroughly 
awakened  and  converted  to  God.  He  yet  stands  firm  among 
us,  a  useful  and  distinguished  member,  well  known  to  many 
of  our  preachers  and  members."  Mr.  Sterling  was  very 
intimate  with,  and  had  warm  friendship  for  Mr.  Abbott. 
lie  was  with  him  the  following  year,  when  he  made  his  famous 
preaching  tour  through  Pennsylvania:  also,  in  1781,  when  he 
was  in  Kent  county,  Maryland.  He  seems  to  have  been 
delighted  with  the  powerful  meetings  that  resulted  from  Mr. 
Abbott's  labors.  Mr.  Sterling  resided  in  Burlington,  where 
he  was  a  great  support  to  the  cause  of  Methodism.  In 
1818,  Mr.  Garrettson  saw  him  for  the  last  time.  He  says, 
^'  He  was  then  a  very  old  man,  confined  to  his  bed,  and 
appeared  to  be  innocent  and  happy."  He  was  for  many 
years  a  merchant  in  that  town,  and  amassed  a  large  fortune. 
For  more  than  forty  years  he  was  united  to  the  Methodists ; 
and  was,  we  presume  to  say,  the  most  influential  member  in 
the  state  of  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  Sterling's  companion  became  a  Methodist  in  1779. 
It  seems  that  she  joined  the  class  that  met  in  Mount  Holly ; 
and  was  the  only  young  single  person  that  belonged  to  it  then. 
She  was  much  pleased  when  Mr.  Thomas  Ware  united  with 
the  society,  thinking  that  she  would  have  some  company  in 
this  young  disciple.  In  1785  she  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Mr.  Sterling,  with  whom  she  lived  for  many  years.     Her 


240  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1779. 

naturally  aimable  disposition  shone  with  increased  lustre  from 
the  graces  of  the  spirit  which  dwelt  in  her  soul.  Equally 
free  from  elation,  from  success  or  discouragement,  from 
disappointment,  with  a  well  balanced  soul  she  held  on  the 
even  tenor  of  her  way,  conforming  her  life  to  that  pure 
Christianity,  taught  her  by  the  Bible,  and  its  exposition  by 
her  spiritual  guides.  Mrs.  Rebecca  Sterling  survived  her 
husband  for  several  years ;  and,  after  more  than  sixty  years 
of  profession  and  pr^-ctice  of  religion  among  the  Methodists, 
she  calmly  met  death  in  her  81st  year ;  leaving  every 
assurance  to  her  relations  and  friends,  that  her  soul  was 
with  the  Lord.  "With  many  of  the  first  race  of  Methodists, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sterling's  remains  repose  in  Burlington,  New 
Jersey. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


The  work  was  also  enlarging  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Me- 
thodism was  introduced  into  Lancaster  and  Berks  county. 

About  1779,  the  Methodist  preachers  were  sent  for,  to 
preach  to  and  take  charge  of  the  remnant  of  Demour's 
Hock  in  the  edge  of  Berks  county.  To  what  sect  of  Chris- 
tians Demour  belonged  we  never  knew.  It  is  said  that  "he 
was  a  disciple  of  good  Mr.  Evans,  and  died  a  martyr  to  labor 
and  loud  speaking,  having  preached  the  last  day  of  his  life." 
Our  best  conjecture  is  that  he  was  a  New  Light,  or  one  of 
Mr.  Whitefield's  followers.  After  his  death  his  people  began 
to  melt  away  through  neglect,  until  the  labors  of  the  Method- 
ists revived  them.  This  appointment,  which  for  several  years 
belonged  to  Chester  Circuit,  has  been  called  "  Old  Forest." 
The  little  old  Stone  Chapel  was  built  about  1773.  When  this 
church  was  annexed  to  the  Methodists  there  were  two  mem- 
bers, Abraham  Lewis  and  Joseph  Kerberry,  that  were  men 
of  note  in  the  community. 

This  chapel,  in  1858,  was  succeeded  by  a  new  edifice  of 
modern  style  and  appearance.  The  old  house  was  deeded  to 
the  Methodists  in  1780  ;  and  after  it  had  stood  eighty-five 
years  it  gave  place  to  the  new  one. 

About  the  same  time,  a  remarkable  work  commenced  in 
Lancaster  county  among  the  Mennonists,  which  brought  the 
Methodist  preachers  to  Soudersburg,  Father  Beam's,  and 
some  other  places.     This  work  began  in  the  following  way  • 


1779.]  IN    AMERICA.  241 

Mr.  Martin  Beam  was  chosen  by  the  Mennonists,  to  whom  he 
belonged,  before  he  was  converted  to  God,  to  be  their 
preacher.  Their  way  of  making  a  preacher  is — "  To  assem- 
ble together  and  make  a  ballot ;  then,  taking  three  or  more 
of  those  who  have  the  largest  vote,  write  their  names  on  slips 
of  paper,  writing  on  one  slip,  'this  is  to  be  the  minister;' 
the  slips  are  then  put  in  a  book,  perhaps  a  Bible,  when  each 
nominee  draws  out  a  slip,  and  he  that  draws  out  the  slip  on 
which  the  writing,  '  This  is  to  be  the  minister,'  is — is  declared 
duly  chosen."  In  this  way  Mr.  Beam  was  made  a  preacher 
before  he  had  any  intention  of  preaching.  He  inquired 
what  he  must  preach  ?  They  told  him  to  preach  "  repent- 
ance and  faith."  He  was  much  embarrassed,  as  these 
preachers  often  are  in  their  new  oflSce ;  and  in  the  exercise 
of  his  function  he  was  awakened  and  made  experimentally 
acquainted  with  the  Saviour ;  and  now  he  preached  so  much 
repentance  and  faith  that  the  Mennonists  began  to  wake  up 
to  heart-felt  religion,  accompanied  by  excitement ;  and  Mr. 
Beam  was  disowned  by  his  former  ecclesiastical  friends; 
when  he,  and  those  that  had  "obtained  like  precious  faith," 
came  over  to  the  Methodists. 

In  1779,  Mr.  Strawbridge  preached  at  Rev.  Martin  Beam's. 

Mr.  Beam's  ministry  was  devoted  to  those  who  spoke  and 
best  understood  the  German  language.  Among  these  he  had 
much  fruit.  One  of  his  converts  was  Peter  AUbright,  who 
for  several  years  was  a  local  preacher  among  the  Methodists. 
At  length  he  concluded  that  his  call  was  to  the  Germans 
exclusively ;  and  after  he  had  been  instrumental  in  the  con- 
version of  many  of  them,  he  was  recognised  as  the  head  of 
a  sect  that  was  at  first  called  "AUbright  Methodists,"  but 
have  since  taken  the  name  of  "Evangelical  Brethren." 
Dr.  Romer,  of  Middletown,  Pa.,  translated  the  Methodist 
Discipline  into  German  for  their  use.  Mr.  iVllbright  lived 
near  New  Holland,  in  Lancaster  county.  Thus,  the  Evan- 
gelical Brethren  may  trace  their  existence  through  a  chain 
of  second  causes,  back  of  which  was  the  Author  of  all  good, 
to  that  day  when  the  Mennonists  met,  and  by  lot  which 
seems  to  have  been  "disposed  by  the  Lord,"  made  Martin 
Beam  their  minister,  with  instructions  that  he  should  preach 
"  repentance  and  faith." 

He  had  three  or  four  places  where  he  preached  in  German : 
at  Rohrer's,  on  Mill  Creek,  towards  Lancaster ;  at  Stoner's, 
and  another  place,  besides  his  own  house.  There  were  two 
Mennonist  preachers,  who,  in  after  years,  labored  with  Mr. 
Beam  to  promote  spiritual  religion.  He  fitted  up  an  old 
21 


242  RISE  or   METHODISM  [1779. 

dwelling-house  near  his  home  for  preaching ;  and  after  the 
Methodists  made  his  house  a  regular  preaching  place,  and 
raised  up  a  society,  a  stone  chapel  was  erected  near  his  dwell- 
ing-house, in  the  latter  end  of  the  last  century.  Two  of  the 
early  itinerants,  William  Jessup  and  Michael  11.  R.  Wilson, 
are  buried  there. 

For  more  than  an  age  after  the  Methodists  began  to  preach 
at  Mr.  Beam's,  his  place  was  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Me- 
thodism in  Pennsylvania.  His  neighbors  who  disliked  the 
Methodists  asserted,  as  was  often  done  in  that  age  in  refer- 
ence to  many  others,  that  their  frequent  visits  to  his  house  to 
hold  meetings,  and  putting  up  with  him,  would  "  eat  him  out 
of  house  and  home."  But  he  was  heard  to  say  on  one 
occasion  in  love-feast,  after  quoting  the  language  of  these 
predicants,  that  so  far  from  their  eating  him  out  of  house 
and  home,  ''  I  find  the  prayers  of  the  Methodists  are  good 
manure  for  my  ground," — his  crops  were  increasing,  and  at 
death  he  left  a  good  estate. 

The  great  meeting  that  Mr.  Abbott  had  at  Mr.  Beam's  in 
1780,  was  not  the  only  one  that  was  at  this  appointment. 
In  1797,  Dr.  Chandler  had  another  very  remarkable  meeting 
at  this  place.  He  had  covenanted  with  the  Methodists  to 
abstain  from  ardent  spirits,  and  meet  him  at  the  throne 
of  grace  three  times  a  day  to  pray  for  a  revival.  At  the 
quarterly  meeting  the  Methodists  assembled  by  wagonloads. 
On  Saturday  Mr.  Ware  began  the  meeting  by  singing,  and 
then  attempted  to  pray ;  but  in  two  minutes  his  voice  was 
drowned  in  the  general  cry  throughout  the  house,  which 
continued  all  that  day  and  night ;  and  for  the  greater  part 
of  three  days.  Many  made  a  profession  of  religion  at  this 
meeting  who  continued  faithful ;  and  many  were  reclaimed 
from  backsliding.  In  after  years  one  or  two  camp  meetings 
■were  held  on  his  land. 

About  the  time  of  the  great  meeting  of  1797,  some  of 
Mr.  Beam's  children  and  grandchildren  were  brought  in 
among  the  Methodists,  and  Mr.  Asbury  remarked,  "  Martin 
Beam  is  upon  wings  and  springs.  His  son  Henry  is  greatly 
led  out  in  public  exercises." 

Mr.  Beam  was  about  thirty-two  years  in  Christian  fellow- 
ship with  the  Methodists.  He  continued  to  wear  his  beard 
at  full  length :  never  shaving  his  chin, — his  white  locks  and 
fresh  countenance  gave  him  a  venerable  aspect  in  old  age. 
He  lived  to  be  almost  ninety  years  old ;  and  died,  suddenly, 
sometime   in    March,    1812.       Soon    after,   Bishop   Asbury 


1779.]  IN   AMERICA.  243 

preached   a   funeral    discourse   at  his   chapel,   where  he  is 
buried,  giving  the  interesting  particulars  of  his  life. 

Between  them  there  was  the  closest  intimacy,  and  the 
purest  friendship,  until  death.  Mr.  Asbury  was  never  out 
of  his  way  when  going  to  his  friend  Beam's :  it  was  one  of 
his  resting-places,  where  he  answered  letters,  and  refitted  for 
his  long  journeys  to  the  West  and  South. 

For  several  years  past  there  has  been  but  little  preaching, 
and  scarcely  a  Methodist  society  at  this  ancient  stand  and 
stronghold  of  Methodism ;  but  we  hope  it  is  beloved  for  the 
sake  of  the  "Fathers;"  and  that  its  latter  end  will  be  as 
the  beginning,  and  more  abundantly  glorious  on  account  of 
religion. 

Within  the  last  few  years  there  have  been  indications  of 
returning  prosperity,  and  we  are  encouraged  to  expect  that 
the  hope  expressed  above  will  be  realized. 

William  Watters  attended  the  Conference  at  the  Broken- 
back  Church,  in  Fluvanna  county,  Va.,  in  May,  1779.  A 
majority  of  the  preachers  present  at  this  Conference  deter- 
mined to  introduce  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  among  the 
Methodists,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  ordain  each  other, 
and  then  all  the  others  that  favored  the  measure.  Mr. 
Watters,  with  a  small  minority,  dissented,  and  took  their 
stations  north  of  the  Potomac.  This  year  he  was  stationed 
in  Baltimore  Circuit,  having  T.  S.  Chew,  and  Wm.  Adams, 
his  brother-in-law,  for  colleagues.  He  labored  successfully 
here  for  six  months.  At  the  fall  quarterly  meeting,  held  in 
his  brother's  house,  at  Deer  Creek,  the  first  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Moore,  of  Baltimore,  who  pressed 
sanctification  on  the  Methodists  with  such  effect,  that  in  the 
love-feast  that  followed,  he  observes,  "  Never  did  I  hear 
such  experiences  before ;  our  eyes  overflowed  with  tears, 
and  our  hearts  with  love."  The  latter  half  of  this  Confer- 
ence year  he  spent  in  Frederick  Circuit.  This  was  the 
"  cold  winter"  of  1780,  as  it  was  long  called,  in  which 
JMr.  Watters,  and  all  that  had  to  travel,  suffered  much. 
During  this  winter,  his  brother-in-law,  Wm.  Adams,  who  had 
just  entered  the  itinerancy,  died,  before  he  was  twenty-one 
years  old.     He  had  lived  a  holy  life,  and  died  a  happy  d.eath. 

Mr.  William  Duke,  it  appears,  was  raised  in  the  Church 
of  England  ;  and  when  the  Methodists  came  about,  as  they 
were  very  friendly  to  that  Church,  he  united  with  them.  In 
1779,  the  Southern  preachers  (where  Mr.  Duke  was  then 
laboring)  conferred  ordination  on  themselves,  in  which  year 
he  located.     It  seems  that  he  disapproved  of  the  course  of 


2-44  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1779. 

the  Southern  brethren  ;  and  as  he  always  considered  himself 
a  Churchman,  he  took  orders  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  some  years  afterwards.  He  lived  many  years  in 
Elkton,  Cecil  county,  Md.,  at  which  place  the  writer  once 
had  an  introduction  to  him.  He  was  quite  a  small  man,  and 
wore  the  old-fashioned  Methodist  coat.  He  appeared  to  be 
loved  and  respected  by  all  as  a  good  man  ;  and  was  generally 
called  "Father  Duke."  He  died  in  a  good  old  age,  and 
was  buried  at  the  old  church  in  North  East,  Cecil  county,  Md. 
Captain  Webb  presented  a  Greek  Testament  to  Mr.  Duke ; 
he,  in  his  latter  days,  gave  it  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Hagany,  who 
passed  it  to  the  Rev.  L.  Scott,  now  Bishop  of  the  M.  E. 
Church. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


In  1779,  sixteen  or  seventeen  preachers  appear  as  new 
laborers,  according  to  the  Minutes.  Two  of  them,  Thomas 
Morris  and  Stith  Parham,  desisted  after  one  year. 

Carter  Cole,  Greenberry  Green,  and  Andrew  Yeargan, 
continued  in  the  work  about  two  years. 

Charles  Hopkins  was  for  the  ordinances  that  the  Method- 
ists in  the  South  adopted  this  year;  and  when  Mr.  Asbury's 
influence  suspended  them  he  left  the  Methodists. 

Mr.  James  Morris,  of  Virginia,  desisted  in  1785 :  he 
became  a  minister  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, — he 
lived  in  love  with  the  Methodists,  and  died,  enjoying  the 
comforts  of  religion,  and  the  hope  of  immortality. 

Mr.  Henry  Ogburn,  of  Lunenburg  county,  Va.,  continued 
in  the  work,  winning  souls  to  Christ,  until  1790,  when  he 
located. 

Mr.  Richard  Garrettson  was  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Free- 
born Garrettson,  of  Harford  county,  Md. ;  he,  and  Micaijah 
Debruler,  who  appears  to  have  come  from  the  same  region, 
both  entered  the  work  this  year,  and  both  retired  into  local 
life  in  1784. 

Mr.  Samuel  Rowe  was  from  Virginia,  near  Yorktown. 
He  was  much  admired  as  a  preacher.  The  Rev.  Thomas 
Ware  says  he  had  a  most  tenacious  and  retentive  memory ; 
and  used  to  say,  "  That,  if  the  Bible  were  lost,  he  thought 
he  could  replace,  by  his  memory,  the  four  Evangelists,  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  the 


1779.]  IN    AxMERICA.  245 

greater  part  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews."  He  desisted 
in  1785  ;  and,  we  presume,  became  a  minister  in  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church.  In  1785,  Mr.  Asbury  says, 
"  I  came  to  Mr.  Rowe's  :  the  son  was  once  on  our  side ;  he 
has  left  us,  and  now  we  have  the  mother." 

John  Hagerty  was  brought  to  enjoy  experimental  com- 
munion with  heaven,  under  the  preaching  of  John  King, 
about  1770,  or  1771.  In  1772,  King  made  him  leader  of  a 
class.  He  began  to  travel  in  1779,  and  located  in  1794. 
He  was  born  in  1747,  and  died,  in  Baltimore,  in  1823,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-six. 

It  is  probable  that  he  was  a  native  of  Frederick  county ; 
and  it  seems  he  belonged  to  the  original  society  at  Pipe 
Creek.  If  he  was  not  of  German  descent,  he  was  raised 
among  them,  and  could  preach  in  both  German  and  English. 
The  Rev.  Thomas  Morrell,  with  many  others,  was  awakened, 
and  brought  in  among  the  Methodists,  through  his  ministry. 
After  fifteen  years  in  the  itinerancy,  he  settled  in  Baltimore. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  elders,  constituted  when  the 
Church  was  formed. 

Mr.  William  Adams,  son  of  William  Adams,  was  born  in 
Fairfax  county,  Virginia,  in  1759.  When  the  Methodist 
preachers  first  preached  in  the  region  of  his  father,  in  1773, 
he  had  several  opportunities  of  hearing  them.  After  two 
years  of  deep  distress,  in  which  he  was  fully  broken  to 
pieces  before  the  Lord,  he  felt  that  blessed  change,  in 
March,  1775,  which  turned  his  mourning  into  joy.  So 
great  was  the  change  in  him,  so  deep  and  uniform  was  his 
piety,  though  only  sixteen  years  old,  that  he  was  appointed 
to  lead  a  small  class.  Being  useful  in  this  office,  he  soon 
felt  it  his  duty  to  give  a  word  of  exhortation.  In  his 
eighteenth  year,  he  was  enabled  to  feel  and  believe  that  God 
had  saved  him  from  all  sin.  In  1778,  he  began  to  itinerate, 
and  in  1779,  was  received  by  the  Conference  and  stationed 
on  Baltimore  Circuit.  After  six  months  of  faithful,  useful 
labor,  he  was  removed  to  another  circuit,  where  he  sickened 
and  returned  to  his  father's  house.  After  bearing  a  full 
testimony  in  favor  of  that  blessed  Christianity  which  he  had 
experienced,  with  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus ;  welcome.  Saviour ; 
and  hallelujahs,"  he  left  his  father,  mother,  brothers,  sisters, 
and  weeping  friends  below,  to  join  those  above.  Those  that 
witnessed  his  triumph,  had  never  seen  such  a  morally 
sublime  scene.  All  present — sinners  as  well  as  saints — were 
deeply  affected,  and  many  good  resolutions  were  formed  on 
21* 


246  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1779. 

the  occasion.     Thus  died  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  on  the 
third  of  December,  1779,  in  his  twenty-first  year. 

Mr.  Joshua  Dudley,  whose  name  appears  in  the  Minutes 
of  1779,  we  understand,  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Dudley,  of 
Queen  Anne's  county,  who  gave  name  to  Dudley's  Chapel, 
near  Sudler's  Cross  Roads.  We  look  upon  him  as  among 
the  first  travelling  preachers  that  came  from  this  county  ;  and 
he  appears  to  have  been  among  the  first  from  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Maryland.  In  1783  he  ceased  itinerating.  We 
have  been  informed  that  he  married  a  Kent  county  lady  and 
lived  in  Quaker  Neck.  It  seems  he  was  living  here  in  1794, 
when  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott  was  at  his  house.  See  his 
Life,  p.  251.     This  is  the  last  we  know  of  him. 

Mr.  Lewis  Alfree,  whose  name  also  appears  as  a  fellow- 
laborer  w^ith  Mr.  Asbury  and  others  (was  properly  a  local 
preacher  acting  as  a  supply),  lived  in  the  lower  end  of  New 
Castle,  Del.  He  was  awakened  the  previous  year ;  and  was 
the  chief  instrument  in  raising  up  the  society  and  meeting- 
house at  Blackiston's.  He  also  labored  much  in  Thorough- 
fare Neck,  and  was  useful  in  establishing  Methodism  there ; 
and  at  Dickerson's,  where  some  of  his  brothers  and  a  num- 
ber of  his  relations  were  members :  this  meeting  is  now 
known  as  the  Union.  He  was  quite  intimate  w^ith  Mr. 
Asbury,  while  the  latter  made  Delaware  his  home.  Mr. 
Alfree  ended  his  days  among  the  Methodists  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  last  century.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  third 
Methodist  preacher  raised  up  in  the  state  of  Delaware. 

Mr.  Philip  Cox  was  born  at  Frome,  Somersetshire,  Eng- 
land. He  joined  the  Methodists  about  1776.  He  commenced 
preaching  in  1777,  in  which  year  he  was  initiated  into  the 
itinerancy,  probably  by  Mr.  Rodda.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
Methodist  preachers  that  was  known  in  Sussex  county, 
Del.  Mr.  Asbury  first  mentions  him  under  date  of  March, 
1778,  at  which  time  he  sent  him  to  Kent  Circuit.  When  he 
began  to  travel  he  was  unable  to  procure  a  horse — his  poverty 
obliged  him  to  be  a  pedestrian  itinerant,  carrying  his  scanty 
wardrobe  and  library  in  a  linen  wallet  swung  across  his 
shoulder :  thus,  with  staff  in  hand,  he  carried  the  message 
of  salvation.  Pitying  his  destitution,  the  daughters  of  Judge 
White  spun  thread  and  wove  it  into  linen,  and  made  under- 
garments for  him.  After  a  while,  through  the  kindness  and 
contributions  of  his  friends  he  was  able  to  travel  as  an 
equestrian. 

In  this  golden  age,  when  different  portions  of  the  globe  are 
taught  to  give  up  their  precious  treasure  which  they  have  long 


1779.]  IN    AMERICA.  247 

hoarded,  pouring  it  into  the  lap  of  nations,  and  making 
many  of  their  citizens  princes  in  wealth — when  many  me- 
chanics live  in  a  style  of  grandeur  unknown  to  European 
kings  a  few  centuries  past,  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  poverty 
and  suffering  of  the  age  of  the  American  Revolution.  The 
time  may  come  when  these  statements  of  the  poverty  of  a 
former  race  of  Methodist  preachers  may  be  regarded  as 
romance.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  truth  that  should  not  be  for- 
gotten, that  as  the  liberties  of  this  country  were  obtained 
by  armies  that  were  poorly  fed  and  scarcely  half  clothed  (at 
the  action  of  Eutaw  Springs,  which  shed  such  lustre  on 
American  arms,  hundreds  of  General  Greene's  men,  poor 
fellows,  were  in  a  state  of  absolute  nudity),  often  marking 
the  ground  over  which  they  marched  with  their  bleeding 
feet — so  Methodism  was  planted  by  a  race  of  holy  self- 
denying  men,  who  endured  all  manner  of  privation  and 
suffering :  often  sleeping  in  the  wild  woods,  and  when  they 
had  a  shelter,  sometimes  the  stars  could  be  counted  through 
the  roof — their  food  and  raiment  corresponding  with  these 
accommodations.  They  were  truly  "  poor,  but  making  many 
rich." 

Mr.  Cox  spent  the  year  1778,  and  a  part  of  1779,  on  the 
Peninsula.  It  was  most  likely  in  one  of  these  years  that 
Captain  Benjamin  Dill  was  awakened  under  him,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  present  town  of  Frederica.  "We  had 
from  Captain  Dill's  mouth  the  following  account  of  the 
design  he  had  in  hearing  this  Methodist  preacher,  and  how 
completely  he  was  made  a  captive  by  him.  He  was  a  Church- 
man, and  had  not  a  little  of  the  Pharisee  in  him.  True,  he 
did  not  go  to  laugh ;  but,  the  end  he  had  in  view,  which  was 
'to  look  the  preacher  out  of  countenance,  and  confound  him 
by  the  sternness  of  his  eye,  was  no  better.  He  took  his 
seat  just  before  Mr.  Cox,  with  cane  in  hand,  and  head  up, 
leaning  back,  while  he  was  full  of  the  spirit  of  contempt  for 
the  coarsely  clad  little  man  that  was  about  to  address  him 
in  the  character  of  a  gospel  minister.  He  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  him,  intending  to  continue  his  intense  gaze,  hoping  to 
see  the  preacher  soon  quail  in  confusion  before  his  fancied 
greatness.  For  a  short  time  he  supported  his  intention ;  but 
he  had  listened  but  a  few  minutes,  when  the  voice  of  the 
speaker,  which  was  of  the  sharpest  point  and  the  keenest 
edge,  liad  pierced  the  captain,  and  run  through  him  again 
and  again,  and  the  two  edged  sword  of  the  word  of  God  had 
"  pierced  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit," 
and  had  become  "  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of 


248  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1779. 

the  heart ;"  for  he  gave  a  full  account  of  his  thoughts  and 
intents  by  confessing  to  men,  as  well  as  to  God,  the  end  he 
had  in  view  in  hearing  the  preacher  that  day.  Instead  of 
confounding  the  speaker,  he  got  into  "  confusion  worse  con- 
founded"— his  moral  courage  was  slain — he  hung  down  his 
head  in  the  spirit  of  a  captive,  while  relenting  tears  flowed. 
Mr.  Dill  was  a  Methodist  the  remainder  of  his  life — he  died 
in  a  good  old  age. 

Many  that  heard  Mr.  Cox  during  the  sixteen  years  of  his 
public  ministry,  were  convinced,  like  Captain  Dill,  that  it 
would  not  do  to  form  an  opinion  of  his  ability  and  power  as 
a  speaker  by  his  diminutiveness  of  person,  or  homeliness  of 
apparel ;  for  he  often  prayed  and  preached  to  the  admiration 
and  profit  of  thousands. 

The  Rev.  William  Burke  says:  "In  1780,  Philip  Cox 
commenced  preaching  at  Bacon  Fort,  old  church,  in  which 
parish  my  father  lived,  and  where  I  was  baptized.  It  was 
the  fashion  of  the  day  for  the  ladies  to  wear  enormous  high 
rolls  of  hair  on  their  head.  A  report  was  widely  circulated 
that  a  calf  had  come  into  the  world  near  Alexandria,  Va., 
with  one  of  these  rolls  on  its  head.  Mr.  Cox  gave  out  that 
on  his  next  visit,  at  the  end  of  four  weeks,  he  would  show 
them  a  wonder.  The  people  of  the  whole  country  came  out 
to  hear  him,  expecting  that  he  would  exhibit  the  calf.  But, 
instead  of  showing  the  calf,  he  announced  his  text :  "  And 
there  appeared  a  great  wonder  in  heaven,  a  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun."  Calf  or  no  calf,  the  people  felt  an  increased 
interest  in  Mr.  Cox,  and  Methodism  gained  strength  in  that 
part  of  Loudon  county,  Va.  *' Finley's  Sketches,"  pp.  23-4. 

It  seems  that  Mr.  Cox  was  arrested  by  T.  H.  about  this 
time  for  preaching.  In  1781,  Mr.  Asbury  being  in  this 
region,  notes :  "  Here  Brother  C.  was  taken  up  by  T.  H.,  a 
man  of  property ;  he  lived  about  one  year  afterwards,  and 
languished  out  his  life.  I  do  not  recollect  one  preacher  who 
has  been  thus  treated,  that  something  distressing  has  not 
followed  his  persecutors." 

He  was  engaged  in  one  of  the  greatest  revivals,  in  Sus- 
sex county,  Va.,  in  1787,  that  has  ever  been  in  America. 
About  this  time  he  brought  a  youth  to  Mr.  Asbury,  saying : 
''  Bishop,  I  have  brought  you  a  boy,  if  you  have  any  work 
for  him  ?"  The  Bishop  laid  his  head  on  his  "knee,  and, 
stroking  his  face,  said:  "  He  is  a  child — he  has  no  beard — 
he  can  do  nothing."  This  boy  was  afterwards  known  as 
Bishop  George.  Mr.  Cox  was  a  man  of  quick  apprehension, 
sound  judgment,  and  great  spirit.    His  funeral  was  preached 


1779.]  IN    AMERICA.  249 

by  Bishop  Asbury,  in  1793,  in  which  year  he  died.     His 
remains  rest  in  Sussex  county,  Va. 

Mr.  Nelson  Reed  was  born  in  Ann  Arundel  county,  Mary- 
land, in  1751.  In  1775,  he  was  awakened  under  the  minis- 
try of  the  Methodists,  when  a  great  revival  was  going  on  in 
Fairfax  circuit  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  William 
Watters,  and  brought  into  communion  with  the  Saviour. 
Like  many  of  the  early  preachers,  he  began  to  recommend 
the  same  religion  that  he  had  found  to  others,  and  exhort 
sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  the  same  year  in 
which  he  was  converted.  His  name  first  appears  in  the 
Minutes  of  Conference  in  1779.  He  faithfully  served  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  a  minister,  for  forty-five 
years,  frequently  filling  responsible  stations.  He  was  at  tho 
Christmas  Conference,  and  assisted  in  organizing  the  Method- 
ists into  a  Church,  at  which  time  he  was  ordained  an  Elder. 
When  he  became  supernumerary,  he  still  preached  as  his 
strength  allowed  him.  Having  sustained  an  unspotted  repu- 
tation as  a  Christian  for  more  than  sixty-five  years ;  and, 
having  preached  Christ  almost  as  long,  he  left  the  militant 
to  join  the  Church  triumphant  in  1840  :  he  died  in  Baltimore 
in  his  eighty-ninth  year.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was 
considered  the  oldest  Methodist  preacher  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


Methodism  having  surrounded  Dorchester,  in  Maryland, 
the  Lord  prepared  the  way  in  1779,  for  its  introduction  into 
this  county — a  Miss  Ennalls,  niece  of  Judge  Ennalls,  and 
sister  to  Mr.  Henry  Ennalls,  had  been  visiting  her  friends, 
and  had  fallen  in  with  the  Methodists  (perhaps  in  Dover, 
Del.,  where  Mr.  Richard  Bassett,  her  brother-in-law,  lived), 
by  whom  she  was  convinced  that  she  was  in  a  lost  state; 
and,  afterwards  was  filled  with  peace,  joy,  and  love. 
When  she  returned  home,  her  relations  thought  her  beside 
herself,  as  they  knew  nothing  of  any  such  experience.  She, 
however,  persevered,  and  was  instrumental  in  the  conversion 
of  her  sister.  Miss  Mary  Ennalls,  and  some  others.  This 
last-named  sister  went  down  the  county  to  visit  Henry  Airey, 
Esq.,  who  was  related  to  her.     As  Mr.  Airey  was  an  entire 


250  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1780. 

stranger  to  experimental  religion,  which  Mary  was  enforc- 
ing, and  fearing  that  his  wife,  who  began  to  show  some 
symptoms  of  seriousness,  would  lose  her  reason,  he  under- 
took to  convince  his  visitor  that  the  Methodists  were  wrong, 
and  for  this  purpose  he  took  up  a  book  written  by  Mr.  Per- 
kins, an  old  Puritan,  and  began  to  read  it  to  Mary  ;  but  he  had 
not  spent  many  minutes  in  reading  before  he  began  to  weep 
under  conviction.  He  read  till  he  thought  he  must  go  among 
the  Methodists,  and  compare  his  book  with  their  books  of 
religion.  In  order  to  compare  notes  he  went  to  Judge  White's, 
and  found  that  his  book  and  theirs  agreed  in  substance.  If 
Methodism  was  a  disease,  he  was  by  this  time  deeply  infected 
with  it.  After  passing  through  the  darkness  and  distress  of 
penitential  grief,  the  Lord  removed  the  burden  of  his  guilt, 
and  gave  him  peace — and  then  he  was  urgent  in  his  requests 
to  Mr.  Asbury  to  have  Methodist  preaching  in  his  county. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1780,  Mr.  Garrettson  rose 
early  in  the  morning  and  called  upon  God,  and  his  soul  was 
greatly  strengthened ;  and,  being  commended  to  God  in 
prayer  by  Mr.  Asbury  for  this  mission,  he  set  out  from  Mr. 
White's  for  Mr.  Airey's.  This  was  all  done  before  day — 
his  morning  devotion,  opening  his  mind  to  Mr.  Asbury  by 
whom  he  was  committed  to  God  for  this  mission.  On  his 
way  he  wept  freely,  feeling  much  oppressed,  and  several 
times  stopped  his  horse  to  turn  back,  but  was  induced  to 
pursue  his  way,  and  arrived  at  Mr.  Airey's  on  the  second 
day  of  his  journey  ;  and  at  the  door  of  his  friend  he  felt  his 
burden  fall.  As  soon  as  he  was  in  his  private  chamber,  the 
Lord  made  him  feel  that  he  was  in  the  way  of  duty.  The 
family,  white  and  black,  assembled  for  worship.  The  Divine 
presence  was  there  ;  and  Mrs.  Airey  was  so  filled  that  she 
sank  to  the  floor  rejoicing  aloud — and  the  work  of  grace 
commenced  among  the  blacks.  For  three  days  Mr.  Garrett- 
son labored  at  Mr.  Airey's ;  and  the  congregations  were  deeply 
affected.  The  work  of  salvation  was  begun.  "One  man," 
said  Mr.  Garrettson,  "  was  deeply  affected  by  seeing  us." 
As  soon  as  the  Lord  began  to  work  the  enemies  began  their 
rage  :  they  began  by  giving  a  wicked  man  permission  to  take 
his  life,  promising  to  protect  him  against  the  penalty  of  the 
law.       Mr.    Garrettson  returned   to   Mr.    Airey's,   and   this 

wicked  device  failed.     But,  in  thus  takinor  refuo;e  with  his 

.  .  . 

friend,  he  had  the  same  oppression  of  spirit  that  he  had  in 

1778,  in  Kent,  when  he  undertook  to  remain  with  his  friends 

in  order  to  shun  the  wrath  of  his  enemies.  He  was  so  pressed 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  251 

in  spirit  that  he  could  stay  but  two  days;  so  he  went  to  an- 
other place  and  preached  with  some  effect.  He  was  not, 
however,  suffered  to  proceed  in  his  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel  unmolested  longer  than  two  weeks.  On  Saturday 
the  25th,  he  seemed  to  have  a  presentiment  in  his  very 
solemn  feeling  of  something  remarkable  at  had.  In  com- 
pany with  his  friend,  Mr.  Airey,  he  had  been  preaching  to 
a  weeping  congregation  ;  and,  as  they  were  returning 
home  in  the  evening,  a  company  of  men  surrounded  them, 
and  called  Mr.  Garrettson  their  prisoner,  beating  his  horse 
and  using  much  profane  language.  After  night  they  took 
him  to  a  magistrate,  who  ordered  him  to  jail.  In  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  his  friend  Airey  and  several  of  his  foes 
started  for  the  prison. 

They  had  not  gone  a  mile  before  there  was  an  awful  flash 
of  lightning ;  and  in  a  minute  his  foes  fled  and  left  him  and 
Mr.  Airey.  He  called  for  them,  but  there  was  no  answer. 
They  went  on  talking  of  the  goodness  of  God,  until  they 
overtook  two  of  his  guards  almost  frightened  out  of  their 
wits.  Mr.  Garrettson  told  them  if  he  was  to  go  to  jail  that 
night  they  ought  to  go  on.  One  replied,  "  0,  no  !  let  us  stay 
until  morning."  The  guards  that  formed  the  company  col- 
lected again,  though  greatly  intimidated  by  the  lightning. 
The  leader  of  the  guard  riding  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Garrett- 
son, inquired,  "  Sir,  do  you  think  the  affair  happened  on  our 
account?"  One  of  them  swore;  and  another  reproved  him 
for  swearing  on  such  an  awful  occasion  as  that  was  to  them. 
The  guard  stopped  suddenly,  and  one  said,  "  We  had  better 
give  him  up  for  the  present,"  and  turned  back.  But  soon 
they  came  back,  saying,  "We  cannot  give  him  up."  And 
soon  after  fled  again,  and  were  not  seen  any  more  that  night. 
About  midnight  Mr.  Garrettson  returned  with  his  friend, 
and  found  the  family  waiting :  they  w^ere  received  joyfully, 
and  had  a  happy  family  meeting.  During  the  remainder  of 
the  night  while  asleep,  Mr.  Garrettson  says  he  "  was  trans- 
ported with  visions,"  which  on  waking  comforted  him  with 
an  assurance  that  every  weapon  formed  against  him  should 
perish. 

The  next  day  being  Sunday,  he  undertook  to  fill  his 
appointment  at  Mr.  Airey's.  His  enemies  were  expected  to 
be  upon  him,  and  many  that  were  for  him  brought  short 
clubs  under  their  coats  to  defend  him.  Just  as  he  was  begin- 
ning his  meeting  his  persecutors  came  up  in  a  body.  Their 
head  man,  presenting   a  pistol,  laid  hold  of  him.     He  was 


252  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1780. 

pulled  into  a  room ;  but,  as  soon  as  he  could,  he  went  out 
into  the  midst  of  them  and  began  to  exhort.  Soon  the  most 
of  them  were  in  tears  ;  and  the  female  part  of  the  congre- 
gation were  much  alarmed.  His  horse  was  made  ready ; 
and  accompanied  by  his  friend  Mr.  Airey,  and  his  enemies, 
they  started  for  Cambridge.  When  he  arrived,  he  and  Mr. 
Airey  occupied  a  room  in  a  tavern  from  noon  till  night.  The 
people  of  Cambridge  came  to  the  hotel  to  drink  and  rejoice 
over  their  prisoner ;  and  their  hatred  to  Mr.  Airey  was 
nearly  as  great,  for  bringing  the  Methodists  into  the  county. 
Before  this  he  stood  high  as  a  citizen. 

He  was  also  a  magistrate,  and  a  soldier  on  the  side  of 
America.  One  of  the  bullies  made  an  attempt  to  come  into 
the  room  to  abuse  them,  and  aimed  a  blow  at  Mr.  Airey,  that 
might  have  been  fatal  if  he  had  received  its  full  force.  This 
sudden  attack  was  too  much  for  the  soldier,  who  feeling  an 
*' old  man's  bone  in  him,"  as  Mr.  Nelson  said,  brought  his 
persecutor  to  the  floor  by  a  blow  in  his  temple,  which  raised 
a  bar-room  laugh,  and  caused  them  to  behave  a  little  better. 
Mr.  Garrettson  reproved  his  friend  with  tears  for  this  act, 
which  seemed  to  be  unpremeditated  on  his  part :  and  for 
which  Mr.  Airey  could  not  feel  that  he  had  done  wrong. 

After  they  had  kept  Mr.  Garrettson  in  the  tavern  for  a 
show  during  the  afternoon  of  the  Lord's  day,  towards  night 
they  lodged  him  in  prison;  and  took  away  the  key,  that  his 
friends  might  not  minister  to  him.  He  had  a  dirty  floor  for 
his  bed,  his  saddle-bag  for  a  pillow,  and  a  cold  east  wind 
blowing  upon  him.  But  being  imprisoned  for  the  same  cause 
that  Paul  and  Silas  were,  he  found  similar  comfort  in  his 
confinement.  Never  was  he  more  happy — he  could  realize 
how  it  was  that  the  martyrs  could  rejoice  when  embracing 
the  stake;  and  he  was  persuaded  he  never  was  more  useful 
for  the  time. 

One  of  his  greatest  enemies  in  Cambridge  was  a  Mr. 
Harrison.  But  his  brother,  Thomas  Garrettson,  hearing  of 
his  confinement,  came  from  the  Western  Shore,  by  Judge 
White's,  from  whom  he  brought  a  letter  to  Mr.  Harrison, 
who,  on  reading  the  letter,  became  friendly  to  both  of  the 
Messrs.  Garrettson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Airey  did  all  in  their 
power  to  make  him  comfortable,  and  many  acquaintances 
and  strangers  came  far  and  near  to  visit  him.  His  foes  were, 
meantime,  doing  all  they  could  to  entangle  him ;  for  they 
sent  a  spy  who  feigned  himself  a  penitent.  As  Mr.  Garrett- 
son was  coming  to  speak  to  him,  it  was  impressed  on   his 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  253 

mind  that  he  was  an  enemy  sent  for  mischief,  and  he  told 
him  to  leave  off  swearing  and  drinking,  and  then  come  for 
advice.* 

After  about  two  weeks'  confinement  in  the  jail  at  Cam- 
bridge, he  was  set  at  liberty  by  the  governor  and  council  of 
Maryland;  his  good  friend,  Mr.  Airey,  going  to  Annapolis 
to  obtain  his  release.  His  enemies,  on  hearing  of  his  dis- 
charge, were  greatly  enraged.  On  this  first  visit  to  Dorset,  he 
spent  a  little  over  a  month — about  half  of  it  in  preaching,  and 
half  of  it  in  prison.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Mr.  Airey, 
"  a  certain  B.  T.,  who  was  a  great  Churchman,  after  hearing 
him  a  second  time  was  seized  with  conviction  on  his  way 
home,  and  fell  down  in  the  road,  and  spent  great  part  of  the 
night  in  crying  to  God  for  mercy.  The  enemy  suggested  to 
him  that  his  house  was  on  fire ;  but  such  was  his  engaged- 
iiess  that  he  answered  the  tempter  by  saying,  '  It  is  better 
for  me  to  lose  my  house  than  to  lose  my  soul.'  " 

Mr.  Asbury  appointed  Joshua  Dudley,  who  was  qualified 
by  law,  to  succeed  Mr.  Garrettson  in  Dorset.  Messrs.  Pedi- 
cord  and  Chew  also  labored  here  a  part  of  this  year ;  and  on 
the  1st  of  October,  1780,  Mr.  Everett  set  out  to  itinerate, 
and  w^ent  to  this  county,  where  he  preached  about  three 
months.  In  no  place  was  there  a  stouter  opposition  mani- 
fested to  Methodism,  at  its  introduction,  than  in  Dorchester 
county ;  and  in  no  place  was  the  success  of  Methodist 
preachers  greater;  many  of  its  bitterest  enemies  submitted 
to  it.  After  about  two  years'  labor  and  suffering  on  the  part 
of  the  preachers,  they  reported  almost  eight  hundred  Meth- 
odists in  this  county.  Methodism  has  long  been  honored 
here ;  and  there  are  but  few  professors  of  religion  that  be- 
long to  any  other  than  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Dorchester  Circuit  first  appears  in  1780,  on  the  Minutes. 

In  no  part  of  the  country  was  Methodism  prospering 
more  than  on  the  Peninsula.  Here  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Gar- 
rettson, perhaps  the  most  useful  Methodist  preacher  that  ever 
was  raised  up  in  America,  had  been  laboring  for  two  years. 
Concerning  his  usefulness,  Mr.  Asbury  has  left  it  on  record, 
"i^  is  incredible,  the  amount  of  good  he  has  been  instrumental 
in  doing."  Next  to  Mr.  Garrettson  for  usefulness  perhaps 
stood  Mr.  Joseph  Cromwell ;  he  was  also  on  the  Peninsula 
at  this  time,  and  Mr.  Pedicord  too,  and  over  all,  Mr.  Asbury 
to  direct,  and  give  stability  to  the  cause. 

*  At  a  later  period,  when  the  Methodists  were  holding  meetings  in 
Cambridge,  a  certain  Mr.  Bryon  brought  up  a  cannon  and  fired  it  off, 
in  order  to  break  up  the  meeting. 
22 


254  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1777-8. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

A  SUMMARY  account  of  the  introduction  of  Methodism  on 
the  Peninsula  : — 

Methodist  preaching  was  established  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Forrest,  now  Thomas's  Chapel,  about  1775  or  1776.  At 
this  place,  it  seems  to  us,  Philip  Cox  was  converted. 

Mr.  Wm.  Thomas,  from  whom  this  chapel  afterwards  took 
its  name,  became  a  travelling  preacher.  Mr.  John  Day, 
who  became  a  local  preacher,  was  one  of  the  original  society 
formed  here  in  1777  or  1778.  Mr.  Asbury,  through  Dr. 
M'Gaw,  had  access  to  the  Emory  family,  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. 

At  Richard  Shaw's  a  society  was  soon  formed,  which,  in  the 
beginning,  was  an  important  society,  and  among  the  oldest 
in  Kent  county,  Del.  Mr.  Thomas  Seward  and  his  com- 
panion were  original  members  here.  His  son,  John  Seward, 
was  some  time  a  travelling  preacher  in  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
ference. Father  Seward  reached  the  "  Better  land"  in 
1827,  aged  eighty-three  ;  he  had  been  a  Methodist  more  than 
fifty  years.  Some  of  the  Downs,  also,  belonged  to  this 
society.  Mrs.  Mary  Downs,  of  this  neighborhood,  died  in 
1827,  in  her  eighty-eighth  year ;  she  was  an  old  Methodist. 

Mr.  Shaw's  house  was  the  first  home  that  Mr.  Asbury  had 
m  that  region ;  and,  at  his  house,  quarterly  meetings  were 
held,  before  the  Methodists  had  any  chapels  in  the  county. 
From  this  appointment,  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Dover. 
The  society  at  Dr.  EdAvard  White's  was  formed  in  the  year 
1777,  or  early  in  1778. 

The  Rev.  John  Cooper  introduced  Methodism  into  several 
places  in  Delaware.  As  early  as  1777,  he  established  preach- 
ing at  Friend  Reynear  Williams's,  east  of  the  present  town 
of  Milford.  Milford  was  not  built,  as  yet.  The  society 
raised  at  Friend  Williams's,  was  the  beginning  of  the  present 
Milford  society,  where  it  was  permanently  established  after 
Milford  became  a  town.  We  know  there  was  a  society  at 
Friend  Williams's  in  1778;  for  a  Mr.  C.  split  it.  See 
Asbury's  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  216. 

For  ten  years,  the  preaching  was  in  private  houses  and 
school-rooms;  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  in  the  house  of 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Aydolett. 

About  1787,  a  lot  of  ground  was  procured  in  a  central 


1777-8.]  IN    AMERICA.  255 

part  of  the  town,  and  a  small  frame  building  erected,  thirty 
by  thirty-five  feet,  for  the  worship  of  God ;  and  a  funeral 
sermon,  by  the  Rev.  William  Jessup,  was  the  first  discourse 
delivered  in  the  house  ;  the  congregation  being  seated  on 
the  sleepers  of  the  house,  unsheltered — the  roof  not  yet  on. 
In  this  humble  manner,  -was  this  first  temple  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  Almighty  God.  In  1790,  the  chapel  was  ceiled 
and  galleried ;  and,  in  1800,  twenty-two  feet  were  added 
to  it.     The  present  brick  church  substituted  it  in  1842. 

In  North  West  Fork,  Sussex  county,  Delaware,  at  the  house 
of  Robert  Layton,  a  society  was  formed  about  1777.  The 
second  time  Mr.  Asbury  preached  here,  in  1778,  he  received 
twelve  broken-hearted  penitents  into  it.  The  Lord  was 
working  powerfully,  among  the  people.  This  society  after- 
wards met  at  Mr.  Thomas  Layton's,  near  by  where  the 
preaching  was  for  several  years.  In  1780,  Mr.  Asbury 
says,  "  I  preached  to  d,  faithful  people  at  T.  Layton's.  The 
Methodists,  blessed  be  God,  do  grow — their  little  stock  in- 
creases. I  am  pleased  with  their  temporal,  and  rejoice  in 
their  spiritual  prosperity."  Mr.  Thomas  Layton  married 
Miss  Rebecca  Turpin,  one  of  Mr.  Garrettson's  converts. 
Miss  Turpin  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Solomon  Turpin  of 
North  West  Fork,  in  whose  house  there  was  preaching  in 
1779,  and  a  society  raised  up,  chiefly  through  Mr.  Garrett- 
son's labors.  In  1780  Mr.  Turpin  died,  in  the  favor  of  God, 
and  his  funeral  was  preached  by  Mr.  Asbury.  Soon  after, 
his  daughter  Rebecca  was  married  to  Mr.  Layton.  Con- 
cerning her,  Mr.  Garrettson  says  :  "A  few  months  ago,  she 
was  in  the  height  of  fashion,  but  now  sees  the  evil  and  folly 
of  these  things,  she  is  a  very  happy  young  woman."  Mr. 
Asbury  declared  her  a  "  pattern  of  piety."  She  was  one  of  the 
holiest  women  of  her  age ;  while  she  fasted,  prayed,  and  wept 
much,  she  was  seldom,  if  ever,  seen  to  laugh.  Though  in  good 
pecuniary  circumstances,  she  was  so  self-denying  and  plain 
in  her  dress,  that  she  wore  no  other  bonnet  on  holydays  and 
Sundays,  than  the  white  muslin  bonnet-  If  the  gay  and  the 
merry  should  flippantly  say  that  she  erred  in  going  to  the 
extreme,  we  answer  for  her  by  saying,  if  she  erred,  it  was 
on  the  safe  side.  In  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
Mr.  Layton  sold  his  land  in  Delaware,  and  emigrated  to 
Kentucky,  but  scarcely  reached  the  place  of  his  destination, 
when  he  was  removed  to  a  "  better  country."  Mr.  Minus 
Layton,  who  was  received  into  the  Western  Conference  in 
1808,  and  died  the  same  year,  we  are  persuaded,  was  his  son. 

After  Mr.  Layton  moved  for  Kentucky,  this  meeting  was 


25G  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1777-8. 

continued  at  Judge  Laws'  whose  son,  the  Rev.  James  Laws, 
was  some  time  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
and  also,  of  one  of  the  Ohio  Conferences,  until  lately. 

After  the  death  of  Judge  Thomas  Laws,  this  meeting  was 
at  William,  Allen's  a  local  preacher,  and  father  of  the  Rev. 
William  Allen,  lately  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  This 
ark  of  Methodism  finally  rested  in  Bridgeville,  after  the 
chapel  was  built,  about  1812-13.  A  new  church  was  erected 
a  few  years  since,  in  its  place. 

The  following  names  were  among  the  first  Methodists  of 
this  region  : — David  Nutter,  Esq.,  father-in-law  of  Judge 
White,  Tilghman  and  Lowder  Layton,  William  Jessup,  of  the 
first  race  of  itinerants,  John  and  David  Richards.  The 
Hickmans — Clement  Hickman,  once  a  member  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Conference,  who  joined  the  Presbyterians  in  western 
New  York,  was  of  this  region.  William  and  Anthony  Ross, 
and  several  of  the  name  of  Smith ;  also,  Daniel  Polk,  son-in- 
law  of  Judge  White.  John  Flowers,  Thomas  Garrettson, 
uncle  of  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson,  and  Waitman  Gozeley. 
Mr.  White  Brown  was  the  nephew  of  Judge  Thomas  White. 
Mr.  Asbury's  intimacy  with  Mr.  White,  led  to  an  acquaint- 
ance with  White  Brown,  at  whose  house  preaching  was 
established  by  Mr.  Asbury,  in  1778,  and  a  Methodist 
society  begun,  which  still  continues ;  these  people  he  called 
"His  children."  In  1780  he  founded  Brown's  Chapel, 
which  is  now  known  as  Bethel,  in  North  West  Fork. 
This  has  generally  been  a  popular  meeting,  especially  on 
quarterly  meeting  occasions. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  Mr.  White  Brown  sold  his 
possession  in  the  Fork,  and  settled  on  Deer  Creek,  in  Ross 
county,  Ohio.  Here,  Mr.  Asbury  visited  him  several  times  ; 
and,  after  an  acquaintance  of  thirty-four  years,  parted  with 
him  in  1812,  until  they  should  meet  in  Paradise. 

White  Brown  was  a  Methodist  of  distinction  in  Ohio.  In 
1813,  Samuel  Parker,  the  Cicero  of  Western  Methodist 
preachers,  was  laboring  on  Deer  Creek  Circuit ;  a  camp- 
meeting  was  held  at  White  Brown's,  which  was  one  of  the 
most  powerful  ever  held  in  the  state :  hundreds  were 
awakened,  and  converted  to  God.  The  best  talents  in  the 
Western  Conference  were  at  this  meeting:  Parker,  Collins, 
Quinn,  Cummins,  Crume,  Finley,  Strange,  and  Heliums. 
The  thousands  of  Methodist  Israel  were  there,  from  far  and 
near,  in  Ohio  ;  and  hundreds  and  thousands  long  remembered 
the  hallowed  scenes  and  associations  of  the  Deer  Creek 
camp-meeting  ;  nor   are  they  forgotten  by  the  dwellers   in 


1777-8.]  IN    AMERICA.  257 

the  Upper  Temple,  who  participated  in  them.  In  1814, 
that  remarkable  youth,  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom,  began  to 
itinerate  on  Deer  Creek  Circuit. 

At  Dover,  Mr.  Smithers  was  a  chief  man  in  the  original 
society.  Mr.  Garrettson  speaks  of  a  Church  lady,  with  ten 
of  her  children,  as  belonging.  Mrs.  Ann  Bassett  joined 
soon  after.  Dr.  Ridgely  was  a  leading  Methodist  in  this 
region,  in  the  last  century. 

In  1778,  Methodist  preaching  was  introduced  into  the  fol- 
lowing places  on  the  Peninsula :  Kent  Island — Appoquini- 
mink,  in  New  Castle.  In  Kent  county,  Del. — Mr.  Lewis's, 
in  Murderkill ;  Mr.  Boyer's,  Dover ;  Mr.  Ililliard's,  above 
Dover;  and  at  Cardeen's  —  probably  this  appointment  is 
now  represented  at  Law's  Meeting-house.  In  Sussex  county 
— Mr.  Shockley's,  in  Slaughter  Neck  ;  Mr.  Ross's  ;  White 
Brown's ;  and  Joseph  Turpin's,  in  North  West  Fork  ;  and 
Broad  Creek.  In  Somerset  county — Salisbury,  and  Quan- 
tico.  There  were  several  other  appointments  made,  of  which 
we  cannot  speak  with  equal  clearness. 

In  the  North  West  Fork,  at  Morgan  Williams's,  Mr. 
Asbury  was  the  instrument  of  the  restoration  of  Mr.  Lowry, 
a  backslider,  who  afterwards  gladly  entertained  the  preach- 
ers ;  he  lived  at  Lowry's  Mill,  on  the  head  of  Nanticoke 
river. 

The  principal  men  in  the  Broad  Creek  society,  were  Git- 
ting  Bradley,  George  Moore,  Joshua  Moore,  Joseph  Moore, 
Isaac  Moore,  and  Thomas  Jones  ;  in  their  houses  the 
Methodists  preached  until  they  built  a  chapel.  Mr.  George 
Moore  became  a  very  considerable  preacher ;  and  in  1780 
he  appears  in  the  Minutes  as  an  itinerant,  where  his  name  is 
found  for  the  last  time,  in  1792,  as  preacher  in  charge  of 
Milford  Circuit.  As  he  was  a  man  of  family,  his  labors  were 
confined  to  the  Peninsula.  On  a  certain  occasion,  he  de- 
livered a  discourse  in  (now)  Smyrna  that  so  interested  Mr. 
John  Cummings  that  he  arose  and  endorsed  it  as  one  of  the 
ablest  sermons  ever  preached  in  that  place  ;  and  with  a  per- 
tinent exhortation,  called  on  the  people  to  improve  what  they 
had  that  day  heard. 

Mr.  Joshua  Moore  moved  to  the  South.  In  1806,  Mr. 
Asbury  notices  him  for  the  last  time  as  an  inhabitant  of 
Georgia,  not  far  from  Sparta.  At  that  time  he  had  served 
this  Moore  family  to  the  third  generation.  Messrs.  Jacob 
and  Daniel  Moore,  who  were  members  of  the  Philadelphia 
Conference,  descended  from  the  Moores  of  Broad  Creek. 

In  1779,  Mr.  Asbury  drew  a  subscription  for  a  Methodist 
22* 


258  mSE   OF   METHODISM  [1779. 

chapel,  which  was  opened  for  worship  a  few  years  after, 
among  the  Moores.  It  was  a  poor  edifice,  and  when  the 
Protestant  Methodists  set  up  for  themselves  they  got  pos- 
session of  it ;  but  one  of  their  head  men,  moving  out  of  the 
neighborhood,  left  some  of  his  old  papers  with  a  friend,  who, 
on  examining  them,  found  the  deed  of  the  chapel — by  which 
means  the  house  was  restored  to  the  Episcopal  Methodists. 

In  1779,  Methodism  was  commenced  at  the  following 
places  in  the  state  of  Delaware :  In  Sussex  county — at  the 
Head  of  the  Sound ;  at  Wood's ;  at  J.  Gray's  ;  at  Evans's  ; 
West's ;  Gibbon's ;  and  among  the  Vincents,  near  the 
Line  Chapel.  In  North  West  Fork — at  Solomon  Turpin's ; 
and  John  Cannon's,  near  the  Chapel  Branch ;  at  William 
Laws's,  near  St.  Johnstown  ;  at  Lewistown  ;  at  Abraham 
Harris's  ;  and  Rhoads  Shankland's,  near  by.  About  this 
time,  the  Zoar  meeting  was  commenced. 

Near  St.  Johnstown  lived  and  died  that  good  old  Meth- 
odist, David  Owen — a  spiritual  son  of  Mr.  Asbury.  His 
son,  James  Owen,  was  a  local  preacher ;  and  was  known  as 
a  holy  man  in  Milford,  in  Baltimore,  and  in  Norfolk,  A^a. 
To  the  St.  Johnstown  Society  belonged  several  of  the  Laws, 
Fowlers,  and  Carlisles,  with  many  others.  Mr.  Charles 
Cavender,  who  joined  the  Philadelphia  Conference  in  1795, 
was  from  this  neighborhood ;  some  of  his  descendants  are  in 
Philadelphia. 

From  the  region  of  Lewistown,  came  the  Rev.  Wilson 
Lee  ;  also,  the  Rev.  James  Paynter,  who,  as  itinerants,  did 
good  service  to  Methodism.  The  former  was  a  flaming 
herald. 

This  year,  Methodism  had  its  commencement  in  Thorough- 
fare Neck,  in  New  Castle  county.  Also  in  Kent  county,  at 
Mr.  Wells's,  who  lived  near  Blackiston's  Cross  Roads  ;  this 
meeting  is  now  represented  as  Blackiston's  Chapel.  In  the 
Alley,  there  was  preaching  at  Joseph  Wyatt's,  who  com- 
menced preaching  this  year ;  also  at  Wilde's  and  Stock- 
ley's.  Near  Kenton,  at  Scotten's,  and  the  Widow  Howard's. 
At  Mr.  Sturgis's,  who  lived  between  Kenton  and  Dover.  At 
Heather's,  who  lived  towards  Holden's  Meeting-house.  At 
Mr.  Stradley's,  not  far  from  Templeville,  where  there  was  a 
society.  At  Stephen  Black's,  whose  name  we  find  in  the 
Minutes  in  1781,  who  died  soon  after  this  :  at  his  house 
there  was  a  society.  Below  Dover,  at  Jonathan  Sipple's, 
and  Widow  Brady's  ;  these  appointments  are,  probably,  now 
represented  in  Jones's  Neck.  At  Dehadway's,  William 
Virden's,  and  Maxfield's ;  Green's  Chapel  seems  to  be  the 


1778-80.]  IN  AiMERicA.  259 

representative  of  these  appointments  now.  This  chapel  was 
called  after  Philemon  Green. 

At  Callahan's,  not  far  from  Spring  Branch,  there  was 
preaching.  Still  lower  down  in  Kent,  at  the  widow  Mastin's. 
From  Canterbury  to  Berrytown  there  was  preaching  at  Joseph 
and  Andrew  Purdin's.  The  society  that  was  raised  up  this 
year  at  Andrew  Burden's,  is  represented  at  Purnell's  Chapel. 
This  was  a  very  wicked  place.  Mr.  Asbury  called  it  "  Satan's 
synagogue;"  but  so  great  was  the  reformation  that  a  bad 
tavern  was  broken  up.  The  people  of  this  region  were  given 
to  horse-racing  as  well  as  all  other  kinds  of  sport  and  wick- 
edness. The  preachers  did  not  fail  to  declaim  against  their 
vices.  Some  of  the  sons  of  Belial  took  Mr.  Asbury's  horse, 
without  his  knowledge,  and  secretly  practised  him  on  the 
race-course.  Soon  after,  as  he  was  going  to  Brother  Pur- 
den's  he  came  to  the  course,  when  the  brute,  not  discriminat- 
ing that  his  master  was  no  racer,  put  off  at  full  speed  and 
ran  over  the  course,  stopping  at  the  end.  In  vain  did  the 
rider  use  the  laconic  monosyllables,  *'  Wo,  Spark — wo,  wo, 
wo,  Spark — wo,  wo,  wo,  wo.  Spark — wo."  Mr.  Asbury,  in 
his  terrified  feelings,  found  it  necessary  to  lift  his  heart  to 
God,  by  whose  mercy  he  was  preserved;  and  for  which  his 
heart  was  deeply  humbled  before  the  Lord.  This  served  the 
wicked  as  some  reprisal  for  his  preaching  against  their  vices : 
as  they  could  say  that  his  horse  had  run,  and  he,  the  head 
Methodist  preacher,  had  rode  a  race ;  although  it  was  unpre- 
meditated and  without  wager ;  and  like  John  Gilpin's, 
unAvelcome,  and  all  to  himself.  In  this  spirit  sinners  have 
often  endeavored  to  retaliate  on  Methodist  preachers. 

At  Purdin's  that  good  man  Dr.  Bowness  belonged ;  also 
Brother  Beauchamp,  who,  we  think,  was  the  father  of  the 
Rev.  William  Beauchamp.  Several  of  the  Clarkes  and 
Davis's,  of  this  county,  became  Methodists  in  the  beginning. 

There  were  at  least  thirty  new  appointments  for  preaching 
opened  up  in  the  state  of  Delaware  in  1779,  from  Appoqui- 
nimink  to  the  Cypress  Swamp. 

In  Kent  county  preaching  was  introduced  into  the  house 
of  Mr.  Coombe,  who  had  been  raised  a  Friend.  He  lived  near 
Berrytown.  Mr.  Coombe's  family  became  Methodists,  as 
most  of  his  descendants  are  at  this  day.  His  grandson,  the 
Rev.  Pennel  Coombe,  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
ference. Mr.  Dill,  now  freed  from  all  desire  to  "  look  a 
Methodist  preacher  out  of  countenance,"  countenanced  them 
by  having  them  preach  in  his  house.  At  Fatad's  Mill 
(now  Smith's  Mill),  on  the  head  of  Choptank  river,  there 


260  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1780. 

was  preaching  and  a  society.  Benjamin  Blackiston,  who 
lived  near  Blackiston's  Chapel,  had  preaching  in  his  house. 

About  this  time  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Duck 
Creek  Cross  Roads ;  the  preaching  was  at  Mr.  James  Ste- 
phenson's ;  this  was  the  commencement  of  Methodism  in  the 
present  town  of  Smyrna.  In  December,  1780,  Mr.  Asbury 
met  about  three  hundred  persons  at  this  place,  where  he,  for 
the  first  time,  preached  to  them.  Some  time  after  this,  Mr. 
Joseph  Wyatt,  a  preacher,  moved  into  this  village,  and  the 
preaching  was  at  his  house.  In  1784,  when  Dr.  Coke  and 
Mr.  Whatcoat  first  passed  through  this  place  they  were 
entertained  by  Mr.  John  Coke,  who  at  that  time  seems  to 
have  been  a  prominent  member  of  the  Duck  Creek  society. 
In  1786  the  Methodists  erected  their  first  house  of  worship 
in  this  place,  thirty  feet  square,  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred 
pounds,  which  Mr.  Asbury  called  "a  comfortable  house."* 

Dr.  Cook,  who  lived  below  Smyrna,  and  who  married  Miss 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Judge  White,  united  with  the  Methodists 
not  long  after  this.  In  the  same  region  the  Raymonds, 
Cummings's,  Halls,  Parsons,  and  Kirkleys,  were  early  mem- 
bers of  society. 

In  the  Neck  there  was  an  appointment  at  Severson's, 
where  a  chapel  was  built  a  few  years  after  of  logs,  which  is 
still  a  place  of  preaching,  with  a  society.  There  was  preach- 
ing at  Mr.  Lockwood's,  near  Kent  county  Poor-house ;  this 
appointment  is  now  represented  at  the  Union,  on  Dover 
Circuit.  Also,  in  the  south-west  corner  of  Sussex  county, 
Jonathan  Boyer's,  Levin  Bacon's,  Messrs.  Freeny's  and 
Calloway's,  whose  grandson  is  a  laborer  in  the  Philadelphia 

*  The  lot  on  which  the  Asbury  Church,  in  Duck  Creek  Cross  Roads, 
now  Smyrna,  stood,  was  from  Allen  M'Clain,  Esq.  He  and  his  wife 
were  Methodists,  and  his  children,  including  the  Hon.  Louis  M'Clain, 
who  was  a  member  of  General  Jackson's  Cabinet,  and  subsequently 
Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  father  of  the  Hon.  Robert 
M'Clain,  Minister  to  Mexico,  were  baptized  by  Bishop  Asbury.  Allen 
M'Clain  moved  from  Duck  Creek  to  Wilmington,  where  he  died:  he 
and  his  wife,  with  some  others  of  the  familj^,  are  buried  in  the  rear  of 
the  Asbury  Church,  in  Wilmington.  As  Bishop  Asbury  was  the  occa- 
sional pastor  of  this  family,  the  Hon.  Louis  M'Clain  used  to  consider 
himself  a  Methodist,  being  a  believer  of  the  doctrines  taught  by  them, 
and  having  been  baptized  into  their  community.  It  is  not  to  be  under- 
stood, however,  that  his  name  was  written  on  a  Methodist  class-paper, 
or  that  he  ever  met  in  class.  He  has  been  dead  several  years ;  and, 
we  presume,  was  interred  on  his  fine  estate,  on  Bohemia  river,  CecH 
county,  Md. 

The  new  brick  M.  E.  church  in  Smyrna  was  erected  in  1845  :  it  is 
well  adapted  to  the  place. 


1780.]  IN   A^IERICA.  2G1 

Conference.  In  North-west  Forks,  at  Morgan  Williams's 
and  Spencer  Ilitche's.  In  Nanticoke  there  was  preaching 
at  Sharp's,  Alexander  Laws's,  and  John  Lewis's.  Mr.  Hawl- 
ston  also  received  and  entertained  the  preachers. 

The  two  Miss  Ennalls,  we  have  already  seen,  were  the 
first  Methodists  in  Dorchester.  Mr.  Henry  Airey,  who  lived 
south-east  of  Cambridge,  was  the  first  man ;  at  his  house  the 
first  society  was  formed,  and  he  was  class-leader  over  it ;  at 
his  house  the  first  quarterly  meeting  in  the  county  was  held. 
Next,  Col.  Vickars's,  where  another  society  was  raised  up ; 
he  w^as,  also,  a  great  Methodist.  There  were  appointments 
at  Kane's,  M'Keel's,  Johnson's,  Todd's,  Hooper's,  Tucker's, 
in  Cambridge,  and  on  Taylor's  Island  :  there  were,  no  doubt, 
many  others  of  which  we  cannot  speak.  Messrs.  Henry  and 
Bartholomew  Ennalls  were  early  Methodists  in  this  county ; 
also,  Messrs.  Harriss  and  KuUum,  who  moved  to  Carolina. 

We  have  been  informed  that  Mr.  Todd  came  from  Scotland, 
and  wrote  to  a  brother  that  he  left  in  Scotland,  telling  him 
that  he  had  settled  on  the  Choptank  river.  The  brother 
followed  him,  and  sailed  up  the  Choptank,  but  could  not  find 
him  ;  they  settled  some  thirty  miles  apart,  and  it  was  several 
years  before  they  found  each  other.  From  these  two  bro- 
thers, the  Todds  of  Dorset  and  Caroline  counties  have 
sprung.  They  have  generally  followed  the  Methodists. 
While  one  of  the  first  appointments  in  Dorset  was  in  the 
house  of  one  of  them,  another  branch  of  this  family  enter- 
tained a  Methodist  meeting,  and  gave  name  to  Todd's  Chapel, 
on  Denton  Circuit. 

The  B  ruffs  and  Parrots  were  pillars  of  Methodism  in  Tal- 
bot. In  1809,  Mr.  Garrettson  met  Brother  Parrot  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  where,  it  seems,  he  then  resided ;  he  also  met 
Brother  Greentree,  an  old  Methodist  preacher  from  the  same 
county.  The  Bensons,  of  Talbot,  were  among  the  early 
Methodists.  Captain  Benson  was  in  the  Continental  army, 
and  in  1780  he  came  twelve  miles  to  see  Mr.  Asbury,  while 
in  Virginia ;  and  while  his  family  was  praying  for  him,  Mr. 
Asbury  exhorted  him,  wept  over  him,  and  feeling  great  love 
for  him,  prayed  that  God  would  keep  him  alive  in  the  day 
of  battle.  He  returned  from  the  war,  and  several  times 
entertained  Mr.  Asbury  at  his  house,  near  the  bay-side.  He 
became  a  Methodist  in  1789.  General  Benson  was  alive  in 
1810 — how  long  he  lived  after  this,  we  cannot  say.  Mr. 
Richard  Benson,  long  known  as  a  Methodist  in  Philadelphia, 
was  of  this  family.     The  Bolingbroke  appointment  is  an  old 


262  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

one  in  Talbot.     Near  this,  Dr.  Allen,  an  original  Methodist 
of  distinction,  lived. 

In  1783,  Mrs.  Banning,  of  Talbot  county,  was  awakened 
under  Mr.  Asbury,  and  a  few  years  after,  her  husband, 
Henry  Banning,  Esq.,  became  a  Methodist ;  these,  with  the 
family  that  Mr.  Hartley  married  into,  were  a  few  of  the 
early  Methodists  of  Talbot ;  there  was  also  a  Brother  New- 
comb,  at  whose  house  there  was  preaching  ;  and  we  may  also 
name  Col.  Burkhead.  Talbot  first  appears  on  the  Minutes, 
as  a  circuit,  in  1781,  with  Henry  Willis  and  Jeremiah  Lam- 
bert stationed  on  it ;  in  1782,  Francis  Poythress  and  Edward 
Morris ;  1783,  Freeborn  Garrettson  and  John  Major ;  1784, 
Freeborn  Garrettson  and  Wm.  Thomas  ;  1785,  Thomas  Has- 
kids  and  Joseph  Cromwell ;  1786,  James  White  and  Wilson 
Lee.  During  this  last  year  there  was  a  glorious  work  on 
Talbot.  Some  three  hundred  were  justified ;  one  hundred 
professed  sanctification ;  and  about  five  hundred  united  with 
the  Methodists.  By  this  time,  the  cause  of  Methodism  was 
strong,  and  fully  established  in  Talbot  county.  Brother 
Greentree  appears  to  have  been  the  first  itinerant  from  this 
county. 

In  Caroline  county,  as  early  as  1775,  there  was  an  ap- 
pointment near  Choptankbridge.  This  appointment  has 
become  permanent  in  Greensborough  (the  new  name  of  Chop- 
tankbridge.) This  village  has  long  been  the  head  of  a  cir- 
cuit, with  its  society  and  chapel.  Mr.  Philip  Harrington  was 
one  of  the  old  Methodists  at  this  place.  Several  of  the 
preachers  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  are  interred  at 
Greensborough — such  as  the  Rev.  James  Bateman,  a  genius 
in  his  day,  and  a  truly  original  preacher  ;  the  Rev.  Alward 
White,  a  truly  primitive  Methodist  preacher ;  and  the  Reve- 
rends William  Williams,  and  Shepherd  Drain,  both  zealous 
in  their  day  for  their  Saviour.  Another  old  preaching  stand 
was  at  the  widow  Lyder's.  The  Concord  meeting  is  another. 
Thomas  Curtis,  a  weeping  prophet,  was  among  the  first  from 
this  county  that  became  a  travelling  preacher — being  in  the 
work  two  or  three  years  before  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper. 
Messrs.  John  and  Walter  Fountain,  as  well  as  Solomon 
Sharp,  Stephen  Martendale,  and  Thomas  Neal,  were  from 
this  county  ;  the  last-named  two  are  living.  These  names, 
with  Green,  Downs,  Connor,  Charles,  Haskins,  Frazier,  La- 
count,  Smith,  and  Fisher,  are  the  names  of  some  of  the 
people  who  were  Methodists  in  this  county  in  the  beginning. 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  263 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Mr.  Garrettson  was  appointed  to  the  Baltimore  Circuit 
in  1780.  After  laboring  here  for  several  weeks  with  his 
usual  success,  he  crossed  the  Chesapeake,  and  spent  about 
six  weeks  on  the  peninsula,  visiting  the  principal  appoint- 
ments in  this  promising  and  prosperous  field.  Here  he  found 
the  congregations  larger  than  usual,  and  never  were  his  pros- 
pects brighter.  When  he  reached  Brown's  Chapel  in  the 
Fork,  he  found  many  gathered  together  from  all  quarters ; 
and  in  this  crowd  his  old  uncle,  Thomas  Garrettson,  who  had 
come  to  detect  him  in  the  midst  of  the  people,  concerning 
certain  evil  reports  that  were  in  circulation  about  him. 
Under  the  sermon,  the  heart  of  his  uncle  was  melted,  and 
his  tears  flowed  copiously.  On  leaving  the  chapel,  he  was 
heard  to  say,  "surely,  my  cousin  is  believed."  He  would 
have  Mr.  Garrettson  go  home  with  him ;  and  the  next  day 
accompanied  him  five  miles  towards  his  next  appointment, 
and  wept  much  on  parting  with  him,  urging  him  to  receive  a 
present  of  a  suit  of  clothes  from  him,  which  was  declined. 
To  please  his  uncle,  he  at  last  accepted  eighty  continental 
dollars,  which  were  equal  in  value  to  twenty  silver  dollars — 
and  soon  after  gave  them  away  to  a  needy  brother ;  this  was 
tlie  last  interview  they  had  in  this  world.  Mr.  Garrettson 
returned  to  the  Baltimore  Circuit,  where  he  continued  to  the 
end  of  the  year ;  and  saw  many  brought  home  to  God,  and 
added  to  the  Methodist  societies. 

Tlie  preachers  that  were  appointed  at  this  Conference,  for 
the  Peninsula,  were  Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  Joseph  Cromwell, 
Thomas  S.  Chew,  Joseph  Hartley,  Wm.  Glendenning,  James 
0.  Cromwell,  James  Martin,  and  George  Moore. 

It  was  during  this,  or  the  previous  year,  that  Mr.  Pedi- 
cord, while  laboring  on  the  Peninsula,  had  such  strong  evi- 
dence of  God's  watchful  care  over  his  children.  He  went  to 
bed  at  a  certain  house  one  night,  but  could  not  sleep,  though 
he  tried  again  and  again.  At  last  he  was  obliged  to  rise, 
and  going  down  stairs  with  the  man  of  the  house,  they 
found  the  house  on  fire. 

While  Mr.  Pedicord  was  preaching  in  Kent  county,  Del., 
about  1779  or  1780,  among  the  many  who  were  drawn  to  the 
Saviour  by  his  soothing  sermons,  was  Leah  Hirons.  She 
became,  and   continued  to  be,  a  full-hearted  Methodist  for 


264  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

about  fifty  years,  until  her  death,  which  was  in  1829. 
When  the  Rev.  Joseph  Wyatt  was  commencing  his  itinerant 
career  on  Dover  Circuit,  about  1781,  as  his  garments  were 
well  worn,  and  his  elbows  and  knees  were  almost  through, 
she  spun,  wove,  and  had  cloth  fulled,  out  of  which  a  suit  of 
clothes  was  made  for  him ;  all  this  she  took  out  of  the 
income  of  her  labor,  which  was  only  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  month,  or  eighteen  dollars  per  annum.  For  many 
years  she  found  a  comfortable  home  with  the  Rev.  James 
Bateman's  family. 

The  Hirons  family  was  one  of  the  first  in  Kent  county ; 
the  name  of  Simon  Hirons  is  found  in  the  colonial  records 
as  early  as  1683 — one  year  after  Philadelphia  was  founded. 

William  Hirons,  late  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  a  local  preacher, 
and  an  excellent  Christian  brother,  was  the  nephew  of  Leah 
Hirons.  He,  too,  went  to  join  the  Lord's  hosts  on  the  other 
side  of  the  flood,  in  1858. 

One  of  the  slanders  that  was  circulated  in  this  region 
against  Methodist  preachers  was,  "  that  they  were  to  the 
people  just  what  Baal's  prophets  were  in  Israel  in  the  days 
of  Elijah — that  there  were  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  them 
spreading  false  doctrine  through  the  land.  In  North-west 
Fork,  Sussex  county,  there  was  a  Mr.  Lemuel  Davis,  who 
had  obtained  experimental  religion  by  reading  a  volume  of 
Baxter's  sermons  that  has  been  in  this  Davis's  family  for 
two  hundred  years.  Mr.  Davis  concluded  that  he  would  give 
the  Methodist  preachers  a  hearing,  and  if  they  contradicted 
his  experience,  he  would  regard  them  as  no  better  than  Baal's 
prophets  ;  but  if  they  preached  in  accordance  with  what  he 
felt  and  knew,  he  would  receive  them  as  the  Lord's  prophets. 
He  heard  Mr.  Pedicord,  who  soon  told  him  all  that  was  in 
his  heart.  One  sermon  satisfied  Mr.  Davis,  and  he  had  his 
name  enrolled  among  the  Methodists,  with  whom  he  lived 
many  years ;  he  was  a  local  preacher,  and  died  in  a  good  old 
age ;   he  called  a  son  Caleb  Pericord. 

In  1780,  Mr.  Pedicord  followed  Mr.  Garrettson  in  Dor- 
chester county.  "  Soon  after  he  came  into  the  count}'',  one 
of  the  violent  enemies  of  Methodism  met  him,  and  finding 
that  he  was  one  of  the  preachers,  beat  him  on  the  road  until 
the  blood  ran  down  his  face.  He  went  to  the  house  of  a 
friend,  and  while  they  were  washing  his  stripes,  the  brother 
of  the  persecutor  rode  up,  and  learning  that  the  preacher 
had  been  wounded  by  his  brother,  he  said,  '  I  will  go  after 
him  and  chastise  him.'  So  saying  he  galloped  away,  and 
overtook  and  beat  him,  until  he  promised  never  to  meddle 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  265 

with  another  Methodist  preacher."  We  have  been  informed 
that  these  two  brothers  were  "  Bannings"  by  name,  and  that 
they  became  Methodists. 

In  1780,  Mr.  Thomas  Haskins  was  reading  law  in  Dover, 
Del.  Being  a  hearer  of  the  Methodist  preachers,  he  was 
convinced  of  his  lost  estate,  and  gave  up  the  study  of 
law,  and  came  out  a  travelling  preacher.  It  appears  that 
he  was  the  son  of  the  widow  Haskins  of  Caroline  county,  near 
Hunting  Creek.  Soon  after  this  the  mother  became  a  Meth- 
odist, probably  through  the  influence  of  her  son.  At  her 
house  quarterly  meetings  were  held  for  that  part  of  the  work 
at  that  early  day.  Soon  after,  Mr.  William  Frazier  and  wife, 
who  lived  near  by,  were  brought  under  Methodist  influence, 
and  had  preaching  at  their  house ;  and  about  1785,  Frazier's 
Chapel  was  erected  ;  it  was  the  second  house  of  worship  that 
the  Methodists  put  up  in  Caroline  county,  following  Tuckey- 
hoe  Chapel.  A  little  lower  down,  near  what  is  now  called 
Federalsburg,  another  appointment  was  established  about 
this  time  at  Mr.  Charles's. 

In  March,  1780,  Messrs.  Philip  Barratt  and  Waitman 
Sipple  took  the  lead  in  erecting  Barratt's  Chapel.  Its  deed 
dates  from  May  of  this  year.  It  is  42  by  48  feet,  built  of 
bricks,  two  stories  high,  and  had  a  vestry  room  connected 
with  it.  It  was  then,  and  for  a  number  of  years  after,  far 
the  grandest  country  chapel  that  the  Methodists  had  in 
America.  By  the  fall  of  this  year  it  was  enclosed,  and  had 
a  ground  floor,  with  rough  seats  and  pulpit,  and  was  occupied 
as  a  place  of  worship.  It  was  not,  however,  finished  till  two 
generations  passed  away.  In  November  of  this  year  the 
first  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  in  it.  It  was  supposed  that 
there  were  a  thousand  people  in  attendance.  Dr.  M'Gaw, 
Messrs.  Asbury,  Hartley,  Pedicord,  and  Cromwell,  were  there 
to  officiate. 

Barratt's  Chapel  is  memorable  on  account  of  the  anecdote 
which  has  echoed  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  Meth- 
odism, of  the  gentleman  who  wished  to  know  the  use  that 
was  to  be  made  of  it.  Being  informed  that  it  was  to  be  a 
place  of  worship  for  the  Methodists,  his  reply  was,  "It  is 
unnecessary  to  build  such  a  house,  for  by  the  time  that  the 
war  is  over  a  corn  crib  will  hold  them  all."  Also,  as  being 
the  place  where  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  had  their  first 
interview,  and  where  the  preliminaries  of  forming  the  Meth- 
odists into  a  church  began  in  this  country — the  seat  on  which 
they  sat  in  the  pulpit  on  that  occasion,  is  still  preserved  in 
the  same  place  as  a  memento.  Mr.  Philip  Barratt,  after 
23 


266  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

whom  the  chapel  was  called,  went  to  his  reward  in  1784, 
just  before  Dr.  Coke  came  to  the  neighborhood. 

Mr.  Asbury  settled  the  rules  of  the  chapel,  appointed 
stewards,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  preachers  to  meet 
and  instruct  the  children.  As  it  was  a  custom  for  the 
preachers  to  change  at  the  fall  quarterly  meeting,  he  stationed 
the  preachers  on  the  Peninsula,  for  the  remainder  of  this 
year,  thus  : — "  Kent,  in  Maryland — Wm.  Glendenning,  Ste- 
phen Black,  and  Joseph  Wyatt.  Kent — in  Delaware,  Thomas 
S.  Chew,  Joseph  and  James  Cromwell,  and  Brother  Law. 
Sussex — Samuel  Howe,  James  Martin,  and  James  White. 
Dorchester — Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  and  Joseph  Everett."  Some 
of  these  were  more  properly  local  than  travelling  preachers, 
as  Mr.  Law,  who  probably  belonged  to  that  Law  family 
that  gave  name  to  Law's  Chapel,  four  miles  from  Milford ; 
and  Joseph  Wyatt  was  not  yet  fully  received  as  a  travelling 
preacher. 

Besides  Barrett's  Chapel,  in  1780,  the  Methodists  were 
engaged  in  building  Moore's,  Brown's,  White's,  and  Cloud's 
Chapels,  all  in  the  state  of  Delaware.  Brown's  Chapel,  in 
North  West  Fork,  though  begun  this  year,  w^as  not  finished 
until  1806. 

White's  Chapel  was  opened  for  worship  in  1782.  It  was 
about  30  by  40  feet,  with  a  vestry  room  attached  to  it ;  and 
by  Mr.  Asbury  pronounced  the  neatest  country  chapel  owned 
by  the  ^lethodists  then.  It  has  been  moved  from  the  site 
on  which  it  was  built,  and  called  Lee's  Chapel.  Its  old  name 
should  be  restored  to  it.  Much  of  the  original  material  is 
still  in  it. 

Mr.  Asbury  records  some  solemn  events  that  took  place  in 
Kent  county  this  year.  One  was  the  awful  death  of  a  back- 
slider near  Blackiston's   Cross  Boads,  one  B.   S ,  who 

was  deeply  awakened  about  1774,  and  became  a  Methodist. 
He  afterwards  sinned  away  his  convictions.  During  the 
Christmas  of  1780  he  was,  sitting  up  with  a  sick  person. 
Two  women  that  had  lately  been  awakened  under  the  preach- 
ing of  Lewis  Alfree  were  present.  They  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  the  Methodists.  He  answered,  contrary  to  his 
better  knowledge,  "  they  are  all  hypocrites."  They  asked 
him  for  his  opinion  of  L.  Alfree  and  J.  Dudley.  He  con- 
demned them  also.  They  then  asked  him  how  they  could 
pray  and  exhort  as  they  did,  if  they  were  such  men  as  he 
represented  them  to  be.  He  replied  that  he,  too,  could  pray 
like  a  minister  when  he  was  in  society.     The  next  day  he 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  267 

started  for  home,  was  taken  sick  on  the  road,  bereft  of  his 
reason,  and  died  without  reaching  home. 

Equally  awful  was  the  end  of  Mr.  F.  near  Barratt's  Chapel, 
who,  though  he  was  a  hearer  of  the  Methodists,  constantly 
resisted  the  truth  that  he  heard,  and  could  not  bear  the  chapel 
so  near  him.  He  sickened,  and  became  delirious,  and  in 
this  state  he  frequently  called  to  a  son  of  his,  that  he  was 
passionately  fond  of,  to  go  with  him.  It  appears  that  the 
boy  complied  with  his  father's  request;  for  about  the  time 
that  the  father  died,  this  son  hung  himself,  and  father  and  son 
lay  corpses  together,  and  were  buried  at  the  same  time. 
This  solemn  family  calamity  was  the  means  of  awakening  a 
stubborn  son  of  the  deceased  father,  who  now  began  to  reform 
and  seek  a  preparation  for  death.  "  Thy  judgments  are  a 
great  deep." 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


Mr.  Thomas  White,  who  was  afterwards  known  as  Judge 
White,  was  born  about  1730.  Dr.  Coke  tells  us  he  was  Chief 
Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Nutter, 
daughter  of  David  Nutter,  Esq.,  of  North-west  Fork,  Sussex 
county,  Del.  The  early  settlers  of  this  region  were  most 
likely  the  outward  circle  of  the  Jamestown  Colony  that 
spread  first  into  Northampton  and  Accomac  counties,  after- 
wards into  Worcester  and  Somerset  counties,  Md. ;  and  then 
into  Sussex  county,  Del. :  Twyford,  Polk,  Ross,  Bradley, 
Cannon,  Nutter,  and  Layton,  with  others,  appear  to  be  Vir- 
ginia names.  There  was  a  ferry  over  the  Rappahannock 
river,  called  Layton's  Ferry.  The  first  marriage  in  Virginia 
was  in  1608,  John  Laydon,  or  Layton,  to  Anne  Burras. 

The  Whites  had  been  raised  in  what  was  then  called  the 
Church  of  England,  and  attended  a  chapel  at  Chapel  Branch, 
between  where  they  lived  and  the  present  town  of  Denton. 
Judge  White  and  his  wife  were  innocent,  pious  people,  accord- 
ing to  the  light  they  had,  before  they  united  with  the  Meth- 
odists. Mrs.  White  was  in  the  habit  of  imparting  religious 
instruction  to  her  family,  not  neglecting  the  servants.  The 
circumstances  that  connected  Judge  White  and  his  lady  with 
the  Methodists,  as  we  have  been  informed  by  one  who  was 
long  a  member  of  the  family,  were  these:  Dr.  White  had 
been  to  hear  them ;  Mrs.  Judge  White  expressed  a  wish  to 


268  RISE  OF   METHODISM  [1777-80. 

hear  them  also.  The  Judge  objected  to  her  going,  and  taking 
the  children  "vvith  her,  and  especially  to  their  night  meetings, 
and  intimated  that  he  did  not  wish  to  furnish  the  means  of 
conveyance;  to  which  she  replied,  she  could  walk  to  the 
place.  However,  the  next  Sabbath  he  furnished  her  with  a 
horse  to  go,  and  he  went  to  his  church.  This  being  the  first 
time  she  had  heard  them,  she  was  convinced,  notwithstanding 
all  that  had  been  said  against  them,  that  they  were  God's 
people;  and  felt  a  desire  to  be  in  union  with  them.  Both 
having  returned  home,  while  dining  they  inquired  of  each 
other  w^iat  text  had  been  expounded,  and  found  that  both 
ministers  had  used  the  same  text,  whatever  difference  there 
might  have  been  in  the  discourses.  Soon  Judge  AVhite  be- 
came a  hearer  also ;  and  the  preachers,  w^ho  had  noAV  begun 
to  visit  Dr.  White,  his  near  neighbor,  were  invited  to  his 
house,  which  became  a  place  of  comfortable  sojourn  for  them. 
There  was  preaching,  and  other  religious  meetings,  held  at 
both  Dr.  White's  and  Judge  White's,  until  they  erected  their 
chapel.  Martin  Rodda  was  the  first  preacher  that  came  to 
Mr.  White's. 

The  following  statements  will  further  illustrate  the  spirit 
of  the  Methodists  of  that  time.  As  there  were  but  few  fami- 
lies that  had  consecrated  themselves  to  the  service  of  the 
Lord,  the  few  that  had  were  in  close  communion.  The  two 
families  of  Judge  White  and  Dr.  White  frequently  united  in 
family  prayer,  one  family  walking  over  to  the  others  the  dis- 
tance of  a  mile ;  and  this,  not  only  of  an  evening,  but  some- 
times in  the  morning  before  day,  male  and  female  would  quit 
their  beds,  and  in  inclement  weather  thus  unite  in  family 
devotion.  These  family  meetings  were  often  attended  with 
great  power ;  and  when  the  sacrificing  itinerant  was  present, 
who  had  to  take  an  early  breakfast,  often  before  day,  to  meet 
his  distant  appointment,  they  were  meetings  of  great  interest 
and  profit  to  the  newly  made  Methodists,  warm  in  their  first 
love,  and  glowing  with  their  pristine  zeal.  Where  there  was 
such  diligence  in  serving  the  Lord,  the  Methodists  must  needs 
grow  in  grace,  and  many  of  them  continued  thus  faithful 
unto  death. 

In  the  course  of  this  year  (1778)  there  was  an  alarming 
drought — a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  was  kept  by  Mr.  As- 
bury  and  his  friends  that  the  Lord  might  water  the  earth  ; 
the  same  day  a  fine  shower,  which  did  not  much  more  than 
cover  the  two  adjacent  farms  of  Messrs.  White,  fell.  Shortly 
after  the  Lord  sent  a  plentiful  rain.  This  occurred  about 
the  s;une  time  that  Mr.  Garrettson  was  so  illy  treated  by  Mr. 


1777-80.]  IN  AMERICA.  2G9 

Brown  between  Church  Hill  and  Chestertown.  The  follow- 
ing year,  when  Mr.  Garrettson  was  at  Broad  Creek  in  Sussex, 
in  a  time  when  the  vegetable  kingdom  was  drooping  and 
•withering  for  lack  of  rain,  he  was  led  to  pray  fervently 
before  the  people  for  the  Lord  to  water  the  earth.  By  the 
time  he  had  finished  his  discourse  and  dismissed  the  assem- 
bly, the  heavens  were  black  with  clouds  and  abundance  of 
r^in  fell.  This  greatly  surprised  and  convinced  the  people — 
many  of  them  were  ready  to  conclude  that  he,  like  Elijah, 
could  bring  rain  in  answer  to  prayer.  We  are  aware  that 
Christians  and  infidels  can  give  different  interpretations  to 
such  occurrences. 

As  to  moral  worth.  Judge  White  had  no  superior  in  his 
day — his  house  and  hands  were  always  open  to  relieve  the 
needy — he  was  the  friend  of  the  poor  and  oppressed  ;  and 
left  no  one  in  bondage  whom  he  could  make  free.  For  many 
years  he  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  perfect  love.  Just  be- 
fore he  died  he  showed  his  son  Samuel  his  books,  and  gave 
him  directions  concerning  the  brick  house  that  he  was  build- 
ing as  an  addition  to  his  old  house.  Then  coming  to  his 
wife  he  said,  "  I  feel  as  I  never  felt  before;"  and  gave  direc- 
tions concerning  his  burial.  He  died  in  the  spring  of  1795, 
in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  When  Mr.  Asbury  heard  of  Lis  death, 
he  says :  "  The  news  was  an  awful  shock  to  me;  I  have  met 
with  nothing  like  it  in  the  death  of  any  friend  on  the  con- 
tinent. I  have  lived  days,  weeks,  and  months  in  his  house. 
He  was  among  my  very  best  friends." 

Mrs.  Mary  White,  the  wife  of  Judge  Thomas  White,  was 
also  one  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth.  She,  like  many  other 
women  of  ardent  piety,  led  him  to  the  Methodists ;  and, 
when  the  light-horsemen  came  to  arrest  her  husband,  she 
held  on  to  him,  while  they  brandished  their  swords  about  her 
head,  telling  them,  she  was  not  afraid  of  them,  until  he  was 
forced  away  from  her ;  nor  did  she  rest  until  she  found  out 
the  place  of  his  concealment ;  and  visiting  him,  rested  not 
until  he  w^as  released,  and  given  back  to  his  family.  On  an- 
other sorrowful  occasion,  when  a  drafted  company  of  soldiers 
came  by  her  house,  and  halted,  while  the  men  were  weeping, 
on  account  of  leaving  their  parents,  wives,  and  sisters ;  and 
while  wives  and  sisters  were  clinging  to  their  husbands  and 
brothers,  telling  by  their  gushing  tears  how  deeply  they  felt 
as  they  were  parting  with  them,  fearing  they  should  see  them 
no  more ;  Mrs.  White  kneeled  down  on  the  ground  before 
them,  and  offered  up  fervent  prayers,  mingling  her  tears  with 
theirs,  for  their  temporal  and  eternal  salvation.  And,  when 
23* 


270  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1777-80. 

the  Methodists  were  met  for  worship,  if  there  were  none 
present  more  suitable,  she  took  up  the  cross,  led  the  religious 
exercises,  and  met  the  class — and  she  would  have  gone  fur- 
ther and  preached,  if  Mr.  Asbury  had  encouraged  her.  When 
that  child  of  nature  and  of  grace,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott, 
was  at  Mr.  AVhite's  in  October,  1782 ;  when  about  to  start 
for  quarterly  meeting  at  Barratt's  Chapel,  he  says  :  "  Sister 
AVhite  came  to  me  as  I  sat  on  my  horse,  and  took  hold  of 
ray  hand,  exhorting  me  for  some  time.  I  felt  very  happy 
under  her  wholesome  admonitions."  The  Rev.  Thomas  Ware 
says:  "She  was  a  mother  in  Israel  in  very  deed."  When 
her  husband  informed  her  that  his  end  was  nigh,  she  spent 
the  last  night  in  supplication  for  him,  and  with  him  exulted 
in  victory,  as  he  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord.  She,  like 
her  husband,  professed  and  exemplified  perfect  love.  They 
were  lovely  in  life,  and  by  death  they  were  not  long  divided  : 
she  soon  followed  him  to  the  "better  country."  Near-by  the 
old  homestead,  the  bricks  that  arched  their  graves,  now  sunk 
into  the  earth,  mark  the  spot  where  their  heaven-watched 
dust  reposes,  till  at  the  behest  of  Omnipotence  they  shall 
again  appear  in  the  bloom  and  beauty  of  immortality. 

The  children  of  Judge  White,  four  in  number,  one  son, 
and  three  daughters,  generally  embraced  Methodism,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  their  pious  parents.  One  of  them  mar- 
ried Daniel  Polk,  Esq.,  of  North  West  Fork,  whose  daughter 
was  married  to  Dr.  James  Clayton,  of  Bohemia  Manor, 
father  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Clayton,  of  Back  Creek,  who  is  the  great- 
grandson  of  Judge  White.  Another  of  Mr.  White's  daugh- 
ters married  Dr.  Cook,  and  lived  a  little  below  Smyrna.  Dr. 
Cook  married  for  a  second  wife  the  widow  of  Gov.  Rogers, 
of  Milford,  Del.  The  youngest  daughter,  Anna  White,  never 
married ;  she  ended  her  days  in  Smyrna  about  1830.  The 
son,  Samuel  White,  studied  law,  and  settled  in  Wilmington, 
Del.,  where  he  died  in  1809.  His  tombstone  is  to  be  seen 
at  the  end  of  the  Swedes'  Church,  in  Wilmington. 

In  1848,  after  considerable  inquiry,  and  travelling  a  com- 
paratively private  road,  much  overhung  with  limbs  of  trees 
for  about  two  miles,  we  came  to  Judge  White's  old  home- 
stead. We  found  a  Methodist  family  living  on  the  farm, 
who  assured  us  that  was  "  the  very  place  where  Judge  White 
had  lived,"  and  made  us  welcome.  The  good  woman  pro- 
posed to  send  for  Leanna,  a  colored  woman  who  lived  near 
by,  who  had  been  a  servant  of  Judge  White,  who  was  then 
in  her  eighty-eighth  year.  Soon  the  little  African  woman, 
led  by  a  girl — for  she  was  almost  blind — came.     The  after- 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA,  271 

noon  was  spent  in  catechising :  we  asking  questions  at  the 
top  of  our  voice,  for  she  was  much  deaf  as  well  as  blind, 
while  she  answered  them.  We  were  well  satisfied  that  her 
memory  was  good,  especially  as  to  the  remarkable  events 
that  had  transpired  seventy  years  before,  when  she  was  about 
eighteen  years  old.  She  could  point  to  the  spot  where  the 
house  stood  where  the  preachers  were  secreted,  though  the 
house,  as  well  as  the  wood  that  stood  between  it  and  the 
dwelling-house,  has  long  since  disappeared.  She  distinctly 
remembered  all  the  old  preachers  that  visited  her  old  master, 
and  could  describe  them,  beginning  with  Mr.  Rodda,  whom 
she  represented  as  a  red  man,  or  man  of  florid  complexion, 
to  Mr.  Jessup,  with  the  wart  or  wen  on  his  nose.  Many  of 
the  particulars  inserted  in  this  article  we  obtained  from  her. 
She  lived  in  a  little  home  given  to  her  by  one  of  Judge 
White's  daughters,  and  was  much  respected  by  the  white 
people,  who  were  ever  ready  to  assist  her.  She  has  since 
died,  at  the  age  of  ninety  or  ninety-one  years. 

The  old  hip-roofed  two-story  house  in  which  Judge  White 
lived  is  still  standing,  and  has  much  of  the  original  material  in 
it  after  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years.  The  floors  on  which 
the  beds  were  spread  to  accommodate  the  Methodists  when 
attending  quarterly  meetings,  and  the  preachers  when  assem- 
bled for  Conference — on  which  they  read  their  Bibles  on  their 
knees,  and  oftered  up  their  fervent  and  faithful  prayers,  are 
still  there.  While  sitting  in  this  house  which  sheltered  the 
first  race  of  Methodist  preachers,  we  felt  as  if  it  was  rela- 
tively holy,  having  been  sanctified  by  the  presence  and 
prayers  of  Asbury,  Shadford,  Watters,  Ruff,  Cooper,  Hart- 
ley, Garrettson,  Pedicord,  Gill,  Tunnell,  Major,  Ivy,  Willis, 
Cox,  Alfree,  Dudley,  Hagerty,  Reed,  Foster,  Mair,  Boyer, 
Abbott,  Everett,  Thomas,  Hickson,  Haskins,  Ellis,  Curtis, 
Spry,  Phoebus,  Green,  Lee,  Ware,  Coke,  and  Whatcoat ;  to 
which  many  other  names  might  be  added. 

When  we  lay  down  on  the  bed  to  pass  the  night  away, 
we  were  less  inclined  to  sleep  than  to  call  up  the  scenes 
that  had  transpired  seventy  years  before.  "  My  soul  was 
fall  of  other  times."  Did  I  hear  the  hoofs  of  war-horses,  or 
did  I  see  the  cavaliers  forcibly  arrest  the  good  man  of  the 
house  despite  the  tears  and  entreaties  of  his  wife  ?  Was  that 
the  gentle  rap  of  Asbury  just  come  from  his  house  of  con- 
cealment, under  the  pall  of  night,  to  assemble  the  family 
for  prayer  and  religious  instruction  ?  Are  those  the  sobs  of 
the  forlorn  females  parting  with  husbands  and  brothers  going 
to  fight  the  battles  of  their  country  ?     Is  that  the  melting 


272  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

prayer  offered  up  by  the  good  woman  of  the  house  ?  Are 
those  groans  from  the  servants  of  God,  wrestling  on  their 
knees  for  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit  ?  I  almost  fancied  that  I 
saw  their  shades  moving  about  the  room,  and  was  ready  to 
inquire,  Will  some  happy  spirit  that  has  gone  to  "  Fly  with 
his  fathers  on  clouds,"  speak  to  me  in  a  dream  to-night  ? 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


Mr.  Richard  Bassett,  of  Dover,  Delaware,  had  his  first 
interview  with  Mr.  Asbury,  it  appears,  in  1778,  at  Mr.  Tho- 
mas White's.  He  was  going  to  Maryland  on  professional 
business,  and  called  to  pass  a  night  with  Judge  White.  As 
the  family  was  passing  through  the  house,  and  opening  and 
shutting  the  doors,  he  observed  one  or  more  persons  who 
seemed  to  be  occupying  a  private  room.  Inquiring  of  Mrs. 
White  who  they  were,  dressed  in  sable  garments,  keeping 
themselves  so  retiredly,  she  replied:  "0,  they  are  some  of 
the  best  men  in  the  world — they  are  Methodist  preachers.'* 
Having  heard  of  them  before,  he  seemed  to  be  alarmed  at 
his  close  proximity  to  them,  and  observed :  "  Then  I  cannot 
stay  here  to-night."  Mrs.  White  replied:  "0,  yes;  you 
must  stay — they  will  not  hurt  you."  Supper  being  ready, 
they  all  sat  down  at  the  table.  Mr.  Asbury  had  considerable 
conversation  with  Mr.  Bassett,  by  which  he  was  convinced 
that  Methodist  preachers  were  not  so  ignorant,  or  unsociable, 
as  to  make  them  outcasts  from  civil  society.  On  taking 
leave,  he  invited  Mr.  Asbury,  more  from  custom  than  desire, 
to  call  on  him  in  case  he  visited  Dover.  When  Mr.  Bassett 
returned  home,  and  informed  his  wife  that  he  had  been  in 
company  with  Methodist  preachers,  and  had  invited  one  of 
them  to  his  house,  she  was  greatly  troubled ;  but  was  quieted 
when  he  told  her:  "It  is  not  likely  that  he  will  come." 
Sometime  in  1779,  Mr.  Bassett  looked  out  of  his  window, 
and  saw  Mr.  Asbury  making  for  his  door.  Wishing  to  have 
company  to  help  on  the  conversation,  Mr.  Bassett  stepped 
out  and  invited  Doctor  M'Gaw,  Governor  Rodney,  and  some 
others  to  tea.  They  sat  down  to  the  table,  and  became  so 
deeply  interested  in  conversation,  that  they  continued  it 
until  a  late  hour.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  friendship 
which  lasted  thirty-six  years. 


1778-80.]  IN  AMERICA.  273 

Soon  after  Mr.  Thomas  White  united  with  the  Methodists, 
he  had  occasion  to  go  to  Dover  on  business,  and  stayed  all 
night  with  Mr.  Bassett.  Mr.  White,  like  most  others  who 
countenanced  the  Methodists  at  that  day,  was  marked  as  a 
Tory.  Some  of  the  rabble  went  in  search  of  him,  declaring 
their  intention  to  inflict  summary  punishment  upon  him  in 
case  they  found  him.  They  came  to  Mr.  Bassett's  door, 
who  was  at  that  time  captain  of  a  militia  company.  Mr. 
Bassett  took  his  stand  in  his  entry,  with  his  sword  and 
pistols :  and  when  the  mob  inquired  if  Thomas  White  was 
there,  and  asked  that  he  might  be  given  to  them  to  be  pun- 
ished as  an  enemy  of  his  country,  Mr.  Bassett  told  them  that 
Mr.  White  was  in  his  house — that  he  was  no  more  of  a  Tory 
than  any  one  of  them ;  and  if  they  got  him  into  their  hands, 
they  would  have  to  walk  over  his  dead  body.  Well  knowing 
the  standing  and  influence  of  Mr.  Bassett  with  the  commu- 
nity, the  raging  rabble  retired  without  their  victim  ;  and 
Judge  White  was  saved  through  the  chivalry  of  his  friend. 

Mr.  Bassett  had  married  Miss  Ann  Ennalls  of  Dorchester 
county,  Md.,  sister  of  Mr.  Henry  Ennalls,  and  niece  of 
Judge  Ennalls,  of  the  same  county. 

Under  date  of  February,  1780,  Mr.  Asbury  says :  "  Went 
home  with  lawyer  Bassett,  a  very  conversant  and  affection- 
ate man,  who,  from  his  own  acknowledgments,  appears  to  be 
sick  of  sin.  His  wife  is  under  great  distress — a  gloom  of 
dejection  sits  upon  her  soul ;  she  prays  much,  and  the  enemy 
takes  advantage  of  her  low  state.  Shortly  afterward  she 
obtained  the  comfort  she  was  seeking;  and  it  was  not  long 
before  Mr.  Bassett  submitted  to  the  reign  of  Christ.  The 
following  is,  in  substance,  his  own  account  of  his  conversion 
to  God.  At  the  time  of  the  conversion  of  his  wife  and  her 
sisters,  as  he  was  moving  in  a  fashionable  circle,  he  was 
somewhat  perplexed  in  his  mind,  on  account  of  the  noisy 
Methodists.  In  this  state  he  resolved  that  as  soon  as  he  got 
throurrh  with  a  cause  that  he  had  to  manao;e  in  the  court  at 
Lewistown,  to  sell  his  property,  and  move  to  some  distant 
part  of  the  country  to  get  clear  of  them.  One  night  while 
he  was  at  Lewistown,  he  dreamed  that  two  devils  in  black 
came  to  his  bedside  to  take  him  away.  He  began  to  tremble 
and  pray.  The  devils  vanished,  and  two  beautiful  angels, 
clad  in  white,  stood  by  his  bedside.  Casting  his  eyes  towards 
the  corner  of  the  room,  he  saw  an  aged,  grave-looking  man, 
sitting  in  an  armed  chair,  frowning  upon  him.  A  beautiful 
child  advanced  to  the  aged  man,  who  continued  to  frown,  and 
fondled  around  him.     On  this  his  sins  were  brought  to  his 


274  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

recollection.  It  appeared  to  him  that  the  aged  man  repre- 
sented the  Father,  justly  displeased  with  his  sins.  That  the 
little  child  fondling,  represented  Christ  in  intercession.  The 
angels  might  represent  the  Holy  Spirit,  directing  the  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel,  or  his  sisters,  who  were  presenting  him 
in  prayer.  He  awoke,  in  raptures,  and  dedicated  himself  to 
God.  Mrs.  Bassett,  who  had  been  earnestly  praying  for 
him,  dreamed  the  same  night  that  God  had  taken  her  hus- 
band into  his  favor.  When  he  came  home,  he  joyfully 
related  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  him.  She  replied  :  "  I 
knew  it;  for  the  blessed  Lord  made  it  known  to  me." 

Mrs.  Bassett  did  not  live  many  years ;  but  while  she  lived 
she  was  a  bright  example  of  holiness,  and  left  the  world 
praising  God.  Mr.  Bassett's  second  wife,  it  appears,  was 
a  Bruff,  a  Talbot  county  lady ;  and  an  ardent  Christian. 
Wesley  Chapel,  in  Dover,  was  erected  in  1784,  principally 
by  Mr.  Bassett's  means,  at  which  time  he  had  not  joined  the 
Methodists ;  he  was  united  to  them  soon  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church.  It  was  the  expectation  of  Mr.  Asbury 
that  the  Lord  would  make  a  preacher  of  him ;  and  often  did 
he  preach  many  things  to  the  people  in  his  exhortations. 
He  has  been  heard  in  St.  George's.  Mr.  John  Wilmer,  son 
of  Lambert  Wilmer,  one  of  the  original  Methodists  of  Phila- 
delphia, remembers  to  have  seen  Mr.  Bassett  in  St.  George's, 
and  heard  him  sing:  he  says  "he  was  an  excellent  singer.'* 

In  an  exhortation  in  the  old  log  Bethesda  Chapel,  on  the 
Manor,  where  his  family  worshipped,  in  meeting  the  skeptic's 
position  of  doubting  and  disbelieving  whatever  he  cannot 
test  by  his  senses,  he  wished  to  know  "  How  a  man  could 
believe,  by  this  rule,  that  he  had  a  back,  as  he  could  not  see 
it,  unless  he  had  a  neck  like  a  crane  or  a  goose."  Quaint 
as  this  language  was,  it  was  better  suited  to  the  populace 
than  if  it  had  smacked  more  of  metaphysics.  Estimating 
him  according  to  his  standing,  influence,  and  usefulness  in 
the  community,  Ave  may  present  him,  as  important  a  member 
as  has  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

About  the  year  1795,  he  was  settled  on  his  large  estate 
on  Bohemia  Manor.  As  he  was  both  wealthy  and  liberal, 
his  house  was  a  principal  resort  for  Methodist  preachers  ;  it 
was  to  them,  on  the  Peninsula,  what  Mr.  Gough's  was  on 
the  Western  Shore  of  Maryland ;  he  was  seldom  without 
some  one  of  them,  and  often  had  a  number  of  them  together. 
When  the  Rev.  Joseph  JeweL  became  supernumerary,  he 
lived  with  him  as  the  steward  on  his  house. 

When   camp-meetings    were   ^dopted   by   us,    no   longer 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  275 

annoyed  by  the  noise  of  the  Methodists,  he  was  pleased  to 
pitch  his  tent  near  the  tents  of  the  darkies,  and  called  their 
music  his  harp.  He  had  a  tent  at  the  first  camp-meeting 
held  on  the  Peninsula,  in  1805,  at  Farson's  Hill,  near 
Smyrna ;  and  when  Mrs.  Bassett  was  shouting,  full  of  the 
love  of  God,  as  she  often  was,  she  would  as  soon  embrace  a 
pious  dusky  daughter  of  Africa,  in  her  rejoicing,  as  a  white 
sister.  Methodism  had  not,  as  yet,  put  on  brocade  slippers 
and  gold  spectacles. 

While  Mr.  Bassett  lived  on  the  Manor,  he  had  two  camp- 
meetings  in  a  beautiful  grove  on  his  land,  a  mile  north  of  his 
mansion  at  Bohemia  Ferry.  The  first  was  held  in  1808, 
and  was  followed  by  a  great  revival  and  reformation.  The 
second  was  held  in  1809.  Among  others  that  attended  this 
meeting,  was  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson.  Some  account 
of  it  is  found  on  page  224  of  his  Life. 

After  these  camp-meetings,  the  Manor  became  famous  for 
Methodism  ;  in  almost  every  family,  Methodists  were  found. 
Wherever  Mr.  Bassett's  influence  extended,  he  did  not  suffer 
a  drop  of  distilled  liquor  to  be  used.  His  house  and  table 
were  very  plain;  while  he  was  doing  all  in  his  power  for  the 
cause  of  God.  After  this  meeting,  Mr.  Garrettson,  who  had 
known  Mr.  Bassett  for  thirty  years,  saw  him  no  more  in  this 
world. 

Near  the  camp-ground  was  a  spring  of  excellent  water, 
under  which  was  a  bed  of  marl.  Many  who  came  to  these 
meetings,  took  their  meals  at  this  spring,  and  drank  of  its 
water.  Of  late  years,  in  taking  out  the  marl,  many  cups, 
knives,  and  forks  have  been  found  that  were  lost  by  the 
people  an  age  before.  In  1848,  the  grove  in  which  the 
camp-meetings  were  held,  fell  before  the  woodman's  axe  ;  and 
the  beautiful  oaks,  which,  had  they  had  tongues,  could  have 
told  a  pleasing  tale  of  the  triumph  of  truth — of  the  joy  of 
new  born  souls,  and  the  rejoicing  of  saints  with  "joy  un- 
speakable, and  full  of  glory,"  have  for  ever  disappeared.  At 
that  time,  Methodists  would  go  to  camp-meetings  a  great 
distance ;  Messrs.  Levis  and  Pancoast,  from  near  Darby, 
Pa.,  took  a  tent  to  one  of  these  meetings  on  the  Manor. 

In  1787,  Mr.  Bassett  was  a  member  of  the  Convention 
which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 
x\merica.  Soon  after,  he  was  a  member  of  Congress;  also, 
governor  of  Delaware  state. 

In  the  latter  end  of  his  life,  Mr.  Bassett  was  Judge  of  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  Delaware.  At  this  time,  it 
seems,   he  had   three  furnished  houses ;    his   old   home  in 


276  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

Dover,  his  principal  one  on  the  Manor,  and  one  in  Wilming- 
ton. In  person,  he  was  a  heavy-built  man ;  and  the  last 
year  of  his  life  he  was  a  paralytic.  Mr.  Asbury  notices 
him,  for  the  last  time,  in  1815.  He  says,  *'  My  long-loved 
friend.  Judge  Bassett,  some  time  past  a  paralytic,  is  lately 
stricken  on  the  other  side,  and  suffers  much,  in  his  helpless 
state."  As  it  is  the  tendency  of  this  disease  to  affect  the 
mind,  he  gave  some  evidence  that  his  intellect  had  suffered, 
by  entertaining  certain  notions,  inculcated  by  a  Sister  Cain, 
that  was  much  at  his  house,  concerning  the  speedy  com- 
mencement of  the  millennium,  and  the  consequent  exemption 
of  Christians  from  death.  The  last  time  he  spoke  in  love- 
feast,  in  Wilmington,  he  told  his  brethren  that  he  never 
expected  to  die.  Such  language,  so  far  from  showing  the 
least  obliquity  of  heart  or  life,  only  evinced  that  the  wish 
had  been  father  to  the  thought.  As  nearly  as  we  can  ascer- 
tain, he  died  in  the  latter  end  of  1815.  His  funeral  was 
attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  people,  at  his  mansion  on 
the  Manor ;  a  number  of  ministers  were  present,  among 
whom  was  the  Rev.  Henry  Beam,  presiding  elder  of  the  dis- 
trict, who  took  part  in  the  exercises ;  the  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper.  In  a  locust- grove 
that  overlooks  the  Bohemia  river,  where  the  wild  brier  in 
tangled  luxuriance  grows,  in  a  vault  that  he  had  prepared, 
his  remains  were  deposited ;  all  that  we  ever  saw  of  this 
once  strong  man,  was  in  this  vault,  after  decomposition  had 
operated  for  an  age. 

In  this  vault,  also,  rest  the  remains  of  his  son-in-law,  in 
a  leaden  coffin ;  and  other  members  of  the  family. 

Mr.  Bassett  raised  but  one  child.  She  was  a  Methodist. 
The  Hon.  James  Bayard,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  statesman, 
who  was  associated  with  Messrs.  Gallatin,  Russell,  Adams, 
and  Clay,  in  negotiating  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  in  1814, 
married  her.  He  died  soon  after  his  return  from  Europe. 
Mr.  Bayard  studied  law  under  Mr.  Bassett.  They  fre- 
quently debated  experimental  Christianity,  as  Mr.  Bayard 
regarded  all  religious  excitement  as  enthusiasm  and  fana- 
ticism. When  they  met,  it  was  Greek  meeting  Greek,  and 
diamond  cutting  diamond.  Sometimes  Mr.  Bassett  would 
cut  him  short  by  saying,  "  All  you  know,  I  taught  you  ;'* 
and  would  be  answered,  "  You  taught  me  all  you  knew,  and 
all  I  know  beside,  I  taught  myself."  Soon  after  Mr.  Bassett's 
death,  his  old  mansion  burned  down  ;  "  For,  the  fashion  of 
this  world  passeth  away."  A  bowing  wall  and  a  few  syca- 
mores mark  the  spot  where  it  stood. 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  277 

About  the  time  of  his  death,  several  of  the  heads  of  the 
Methodist  congregation  were  taken  away: — In  1814  Bishop 
Coke,  in  1815  Governor  Van  Courtland,  of  New  York,  as 
well  as  Governor  Bassett,  of  Delaware ;  in  1816  Mr.  Shad- 
ford,  Bishop  Asbury,  and  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee. 

When  Mr.  Bassett's  house  was  consumed,  many  old  and 
valuable  paintings  perished.  One  of  its  large  halls  was 
lined  with  them.  Many  of  them  had  belonged  to  Augustine 
Herman,  the  founder  of  Bohemia  Manor.  His  likeness,  and 
that  of  his  lady,  perished ;  also,  the  painting  representing 
his  flight  from  the  Dutch  in  New  York,  by  means  of  his 
famous  war  charger.  There  are  people  still  living,  who  saw 
these  paintings,  again  and  again,  before  they  were  destroyed. 
There  were  others,  representing  scenes  illustrating  events 
connected  with  the  settlement  of  America.  / 

Bohemia  Manor  is  bounded  by  Bohemia  and  Elk  rivers, 
Back  Creek,  and  the  Delaware  state  line.  It  takes  its  name 
from  a  Bohemian,  whose  name  was  Augustine  Herman,  who 
obtained  a  grant  of  18,000  acres  of  land  in  Cecil  county,  Md., 
which  he  called  Bohemia  Manor.  It  is  said,  that  the  Dutch 
had  him  a  prisoner  of  war,  at  one  time,  under  sentence  of 
death,  in  New  York.  A  short  time  before  he  was  to  be 
executed,  he  feigned  himself  to  be  deranged  in  mind,  and 
requested  that  his  horse  should  be  brought  to  him  in  the 
prison.  The  horse  was  brought,  finely  caparisoned.  Herman 
mounted  him,  and  seemed  to  be  performing  military  exer- 
cises, when,  on  the  first  opportunity,  he  bolted  through  one 
of  the  large  windows,  that  was  some  fifteen  feet  above 
ground,  leaped  down,  swam  the  North  river,  run  his  horse 
through  Jersey,  and  alighted  on  the  bank  of  the  Delaware, 
opposite  New  Castle,  and  thus  made  his  escape  from  death 
and  the  Dutch.  This  daring  feat,  tradition  says,  he  had 
transferred  to  canvas — himself  represented  as  standing  by 
the  side  of  his  charger,  from  whose  nostrils  the  blood  was 
flowing.  It  is  said  that  a  copy  of  this  painting  still  exists. 
He  never  suffered  this  horse  to  be  used  afterwards,  and 
when  he  died,  had  him  buried,  and  honored  his  grave  with 
a  tomb-stone. 

Herman  first  settled  in  the  town  of  New  Castle.  Here,  he 
buried  this  horse,  and  here,  this  stone,  if  it  exists,  should 
be.  He  settled  on  Bohemia  Manor  prior  to  1664.  Herman 
was  the  great  man  of  the  region ;  he  had  his  deer-park — 
the  walls  of  it  are  still  standing ;  he  rode  in  his  coach,  driven 
by  liveried  servants ;  his  mansion  commanded  a  fine  view 
24 


278  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1780. 

of  the  Bohemia  river  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay.     His  tomb- 
stone has  this  inscription  : — 

AUGUSTINE  HERMAN,  BOHEMIAN. 

THE  FIRST  FOUNDER  AND 

SEATER    OF    BOHEMIA    MANOR. 

ANNO  1669. 

As  a  relic  of  olden  times,  in  the  history  of  Europeans  in 
this  country,  there  is  a  house  on  this  Manor  that  has  been 
standing  one  hundred  and  sixty  years,  or  more ;  the  bricks, 
sash,  and  all  the  original  materials  in  it,  were  made  in 
England,  and  brought  to  Cecil  county,  Md. 

The  Inzer,  or  Enzer,  family  was  Herman's  heir  to  Bohemia 
Manor.  In  this  family,  the  title  of  "  First  Lord  of  the 
Manor"  existed,  until  the  Revolution  abolished  all  titles  of 
nobility.  In  one  version  of  Asbury's  Journal  he  says,  he 
preached  to  the  First  Lord  of  the  Manor  on  Bohemia,  about 
the  year  1772  or  1773.  This  Inzer  family  had  become 
idiotic,  probably  by  intermarrying.  They  are  still  remem- 
bered by  some  who  are  living.  The  last  Lord  of  the  Manor 
was  happy  enough  when  surrounded  by  his  dogs — clothes, 
or  no  clothes — for  he  was  often  seen  almost  entirely  de- 
nuded. The  Bouchell,  or  Sluyter  family,  one  or  the  other, 
by  marrying  into  the  Inzer  family,  inherited  a  part  of  the 
Manor ;  so,  also,  the  Oldham  family.  A  Mr.  Lawson, 
a  lawyer,  married  a  Miss  Inzer,  who  made  over  to  him  her 
real  estate  in  the  Manor.  Though  she  was  regarded  as  an 
idiot,  he  so  trained  and  taught  her,  that  she  answered  such 
questions  before  the  proper  persons,  making  the  conveyance, 
as  made  them  say  she  was  not  only  rational,  but  very 
rational ;  thus,  Mr.  Lawson  became  her  heir.  She  had  no 
child ;  but  Mr.  Lawson  acknowledged  Richard  Bassett,  and 
gave  him  his  education,  and  his  own  profession,  that  of  the  law ; 
and  Mr.  Bassett  became  heir  to  Mr.  Lawson's  six  thousand 
acres  of  Bohemia  Manor,  which  embraced  the  fairest  and 
best  portion  of  the  Manor.  As  we  have  already  said,  Mr. 
Bayard  married  the  only  child — a  daughter  of  Governor 
Bassett.  His  estate  was  inherited  by  his  children  ;  and  his 
son,  the  Honorable  Richard  Bayard,  still  has  much  of  this 
Manor  land,  which  was  once  the  estate  of  Mr.  Bassett,  once 
the  estate  of  Lawson,  of  Inzer,  and  originally  of  Augustine 
Herman. 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  279 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

At  the  end  of  this  Conference  year,  Mr.  Asbury  and  several 
other  preachers,  such  as  Messrs.  Garrettson,  Cromwell,  and 
John  Cooper,  held  quarterly  meetings  at  the  Sound  :  this 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  quarterly  meeting  held  at  that 
place;  and  as  the  Baptists  persuaded  the  people  not  to  hear 
the  Methodists  preach,  and  to  be  dipped — thus  influencing 
the  weaker  ones,  Mr.  Joseph  Wyatt  was  left  to  take  care  of 
the  cause  of  Methodism  in  this  place,  while  the  preachers 
went  to  Conference.  On  their  w^ay  to  Conference  they  held 
another  quarterly  meeting  at  Forest  or  Thomas's  Chapel, 
assisted  by  Dr.  M'Gaw  and  Mr.  Neal. 

The  Methodist  preachers  had  not  had  as  much  success 
this  year  as  the  previous  one.  The  greatest  prosperity  had 
been  on  the  Peninsula,  in  Delaware  and  Maryland.  As  the 
South  had  become  the  seat  of  war,  there  was  a  decrease  of 
Methodists  in  this  quarter — the  whole  number  returned  was 
8504  ;  of  this  number  less  than  400  were  found  north  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line,  and  about  8000  south  of  it.  Nineteen- 
twentieths  of  them  w^ere  south  of  the  above  line. 

The  preachers  on  the  Northern  stations  met  in  April,  1780, 
in  Baltimore,  to  hold  Conference, — Mr.  Asbury  presiding. 
They  revicAved,  revised,  and  extended  the  polity  of  Method- 
ism. They  agreed  to  change  circuits  at  the  end  of  six  months. 
Besides  this,  there  were  twenty-six  questions  considered  and 
affirmed.  The  seventh  question  made  it  the  duty  of  all  the 
assistants  to  see  that  all  our  meeting-houses  were  regularly 
settled  by  deed  and  trustees.  The  eleventh  question  affirmed 
that  all  our  preachers  ought  conscientiously  to  rise  at  four 
or  five,  and  that  it  w^as  a  shame  for  a  preacher  to  be  in  bed 
till  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  fourteenth  question 
provided  for  the  needy  wives  of  the  preachers  that  they 
should  receive  as  much  per  quarter  as  their  husbands.  The 
fifteenth  made  it  the  duty  of  the  preachers  to  have  religious 
conversation  with  every  member  of  the  family  w^here  they 
lodged  (if  time  permitted),  at  the  time  of  family  prayer. 
This  rule  was  productive  of  much  good.  The  eighteenth 
recommended  the  quarterly  meetings,  that  had,  hitherto,  been 
generally  held  on  Mondays  and  Tuesdays,  to  be  held  on 
Saturdays  and  Sundays,  w^ien  convenient  to  do  so.  Question 
twenty-three  disapproved  of  distilling  grain  into  liquor,  and 


280  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1780. 

provided  for  disowning  the  Methodists  that  continued  the 
practice.  The  twenty-fifth  provided  for  meeting  the  coh:)red 
people,  and  not  suffering  them  to  meet  by  themselves,  or  to 
stay  late  at  night.  Question  twenty-six  laid  down  the  terms 
of  union  with  the  Virginia  brethren,  who  were  administering 
the  ordinances, — namely,  for  them  to  suspend  them  for  one 
year,  and  all  meet  together  in  Baltimore  for  Conference. 
The  other  questions  being  of  less  generaPinterest,  are  not 
quoted. 

The  preachers  who  sanctioned  the  arrangement  at  the 
Fluvanna  Conference  to  have  the  ordinances  of  Christianity 
administered  among  the  Methodists,  were  Isham  Tatum, 
Charles  Hopkins,  Nelson  Reed,  Reuben  Ellis,  Philip  Gratch, 
Thomas  Morris,  James  Morris,  James  Foster,  John  Major, 
Andrew  Yeargan,  Henry  Willis,  Francis  Poythress,  John 
Sigman,  Leroy  Cole,  Carter  Cole,  James  O'Kelly,  William 
Moore,  and  Samuel  Rowe. 

From  the  Conference  held  in  Baltimore  in  1780,  Messrs. 
Asbury,  Watters,  and  Garrettson  went  to  the  Conference  at 
Manakintown,  in  Virginia ;  where,  after  much  conversation, 
weeping  and  praying,  a  union  was  effected  between  the 
preachers  in  the  South,  who  had  adopted  the  ordinances,  and 
those  in  the  North  who  opposed  this  measure ;  and  the  Meth- 
odists were  one  body  again.  These  two  Conferences  were 
considered  as  one  in  respect  to  the  work,  and  the  interest  of 
the  cause  in  general. 

Three  new  circuits  appear  in  the  Minutes  this  year :  one 
in  North  Carolina  called  Yadkin  ;  and  two  on  the  Peninsula, — 
one  of  which  was  Sussex,  in  Delaware,  the  other  Dorchester, 
in  Maryland.  There  were  twenty  circuits  on  which  forty- 
two  preachers  were  stationed,  exclusive  of  Mr.  Asbury,  who 
was  to  travel  through  the  work  generally.  His  first  visit  to 
Virginia  was  in  1775 ;  and,  after  an  absence  of  four  years, 
he  visited  it  again.  In  this  interim  a  number  of  plain  chapels 
had  been  erected,  such  as  Mabry's,  Merritt's,  Easlin's,  Wat- 
son's, White's,  Stony  Hill,  Rose  Creek,  Mumpin's,  and 
Adams's,  in  Fairfax  county.  At  Mabry's  Chapel,  he  observes, 
"  I  never  heard  such  singing  in  my  life.  A  woman  sat  by 
the  desk  and  cried  Glory  and  praise,  I  drink  of  the  water 
of  life  freely."     At  this  place  there  was  a  revival. 

From  Virginia,  Mr.  Asbury  paid  his  first  visit  to  North 
Carolina.  Methodism  had  been  spreading  in  this  state  for 
seven  years.  At  this  time  there  were  four  circuits  in  it; 
and  he  travelled  through  three  of  them.  He  found  the 
country  much  better  than  he  expected  to  find  it ;  and  the 


1780.]  I^   AMERICA.  281 

people  were  living  more  comfortably  than  he  supposed  they 
lived,  from  information  previously  given  him.  (Though  we, 
at  this  time,  would  think  both  country  and  living  poor 
enouorh.)  The  Methodists  had  erected  several  humble  places 
of  worship — such  as  Nutbush,  Cypress,  Taylor's,  Pope's, 
Neuse,  Henley's,  and  Lee's,  in  Caswell  county.  The  one  at 
Nutbush  Creek,  was  twenty  by  twenty-five  feet,  built  of 
logs — a  humble  temple  this  !  and  yet,  no  doubt,  God  was 
acceptably  worshipped  in  it.  Which  of  these  chapels  was 
first  built,  we  are  unable  to  say. 

Mr.  Asbury  spent  about  six  months  in  travelling  and 
preaching  in  Virginia  and  in  North  Carolina,  endeavoring  to 
reconcile  the  preachers  and  people  to  be  content  to  do  with- 
out the  ordiniinces  administered  by  Methodist  preachers, 
until  they  could  hear  from  Mr.  Wesley.  As  he  was  going 
down  James  river  toward  Norfolk,  hearing  that  the  British 
were  there,  he  set  his  face  towards  the  North,  and  came  by 
Alexandria  to  Baltimore  and  the  Peninsula.  From  1777  to 
1780,  Mr.  Asbury  was  between  two  fires  ;  the  American 
Whigs  suspected  him  for  being  a  friend  to  King  George, 
while  Messrs.  Rankin  and  Rodda  had  impressed  the  British 
commanders  that  he  was  sufficiently  friendly  to  the  cause  of 
Americans.  Hence,  he  was  more  careful  to  shun  the  British, 
than  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  American  army. 

While  he  thus  travelled  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  Methodism,  he  had  to  depend  much  on  individual  bounty. 
Before  he  set  off  on  this  tour  to  the  South,  Mr.  Gough  and 
Mr.  Chamier,  of  Baltimore,  had  given  him  three  or  four 
guineas,  which  defrayed  the  expenses  of  his  journey  ;  and, 
as  his  dress  began  to  be  ragged,  the  kind  family  of  Captain 
Smith,  near  Petersburg,  presented  him  with  a  piece  of  Vir- 
ginia cloth,  out  of  which  a  suit  of  new  clothes  was  made  for 
him.  In  this  way  the  general  superintendent  of  Methodism 
was  provided  for  at  that  day. 

While  Mr.  Asbury  was  in  Virginia  this  year,  he  observed, 
"If  I  had  Harry  to  go  with  me  and  meet  the  colored  people, 
it  would  be  attended  with  a  blessing."  This  is  the  first 
time  that  we  meet  with  the  name  of  this  individual,  who,  as 
we  suppose,  was  the  same  Harry  Hosier,  who  was  so  well 
known  among  the  Methodists  for  about  thirty  years  after 
this.  We  are  ignorant  of  Harry's  history  previous  to  this 
date.  In  1782,  Mr.  Asbury  wished  him  to  accompany  him 
on  his  visit  to  the  South  ;  but  Harry  seemed  unwilling  to  go. 
It  was  feared  that  his  speaking  so  much  to  white  people  in 
Philadelphia  had  been  injurious  to  him ;  and  that  the  much 
24* 


282  RISE    OF   METHODISM  .  [1780. 

flattery  which  was  offered  to  him,  might  in  the  end  be  ruinous 
to  him.  He  was  small,  very  black,  keen-eyed,  possessing 
great  volubility  of  tongue  ;  and,  although  so  illiterate  that 
he  could  not  read,  was  one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  of 
that  age.  We  have  been  informed  that  Dr.  Rush,  having 
heard  him,  pronounced  him,  taking  into  the  account  his 
illiteracy,  the  greatest  orator  in  America.  Mr.  Asbury,  with 
whom  Harry  travelled  a  good  deal,  said,  the  way  to  have  a 
very  large  congregation,  was  to  give  out  that  Harry  was  to 
preach  ;  as  more  would  come  together  to  hear  him,  than 
himself.  It  has  been  said  that  on  one  occasion,  in  Wilming- 
ton, Del.,  where  Methodism  was  long  unpopular,  a  number 
of  the  citizens,  who  did  not  ordinarily  attend  Methodist 
preaching,  came  together  to  hear  Bishop  Asbury.  Old 
Asbury  was,  at  that  time,  so  full  that  they  could  not  get  in. 
They  stood  outside  to  hear  the  bishop,  as  they  supposed,  but 
in  reality  they  heard  Harry.  Before  they  left  the  place, 
they  complimented  the  speaker  by  saying :  "  If  all  Meth- 
odist preachers  could  preach  like  the  bishop,  we  should  like 
to  be  constant  hearers."  Some  one  present  replied,  "  That 
was  not  the  bishop,  but  the  bishop's  servant  that  you  heard." 
This  only  raised  the  bishop  higher  in  their  estimation  ;  as 
their  conclusion  was,  "if  such  be  the  servant,  what  must  the 
master  be?"  The  truth  was,  that  Harry  was  a  more  popu- 
lar speaker  than  Mr.  Asbury,  or  almost  any  one  else  in  his 
day.  When  Dr.  Coke  came  to  Barratt's  Chapel,  Mr.  Asbury 
provided  him  a  carriage  and  horses,  and  Harry  to  drive  and 
pilot  him  round  the  Peninsula.  By  the  time  they  reached 
John  Purnell's,  in  Worcester  county,  the  doctor  observed, 
"I  am  pleased  with  Harry's  preaching."  Harry  also  tra- 
velled with  Messrs.  Garrettson  and  Whatcoat ;  and  we  cannot 
say  how  many  more  of  the  early  preachers.  At  that  day, 
Harry  was  closely  identified  with  Methodism. 

After  he  had  moved  on  a  tide  of  popularity  for  a  number 
of  years,  he  fell  by  wine,  one  of  the  strong  enemies  of  both 
ministers  and  people.  And  now,  alas  !  this  popular  preacher 
was  a  drunken  rag-picker  in  the  streets  of  Philadelphia.  But 
we  will  not  leave  him  here.  One  evening  Harry  started 
down  the  Neck,  below  Southwark,  determined  to  remain 
there  until  his  backslidings  were  healed.  Under  a  tree  he 
wrestled  with  God  in  prayer.  Sometime  that  night  God 
restored  to  him  the  joys  of  his  salvation.  From  this  time 
Harry  continued  faithful ;  though  he  could  not  stand  before 
the  people  with  that  pleasing  confidence,  as  a  public  speaker, 
that  he  had  before  his  fall.     About  the  year  1810  Harry 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  283 

finished  his  course ;  and,  it  is  believed,  made  a  good  end. 
An  unusually  large  number  of  people,  both  white  and  colored, 
followed  his* body  to  its  last  resting-place,  in  a  free  burying- 
ground  in  Kensington. 

After  Mr.  Watters  had  visited  the  Virginia  Conference, 
in  1780,  he  returned,  for  the  fourth  time,  to  Frederick 
Circuit  for  six  months — then  for  a  few  weeks  in  Fairfax 
Circuit.  In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  he  went  with  John 
Tunnell  to  form  Calvert  Circuit  in  Maryland.  From  the 
Conference  of  1781  he  went  again  into  Baltimore  Circuit. 
In  the  latter  end  of  this  year  he  came  to  Philadelphia  to 
have  a  Biography  of  William  Adams  printed,  and  went  into 
New  Jersey,  as  far  as  New  Mills,  and  found  all  the  Method- 
ists alive  that  he  left  seven  years  before ;  and  only  one  had 
left  the  society — during  which  time  their  number  had  more 
than  doubled.  He  spent  the  year  1782  in  Fluvanna  and 
Hanover  Circuits.  In  1783  he  went  to  Calvert  Circuit ;  and 
in  the  latter  end  of  the  year  located  and  settled  twelve  miles 
from  Alexandria,  in  Fairfax  county,  Va.  In  1786  he  was 
appointed  to  Berkley  Circuit ;  but  after  six  months  stopped 
again.  In  1786  his  wife's  mother,  Mrs.  Ann  Adams,  died. 
She  was  among  the  first  in  Fairfax  county  that  was  brought 
to  the  Lord  by  the  preaching  of  the  Methodists  in  1773: 
she  had  shown  herself  to  be  a  mother  in  Israel.  In  1801  he 
re-entered  the  itinerancy  and  was  stationed  in  Alexandria. 
In  1802  he  was  in  Georgetown.  In  1803  he  lost  his  mother, 
in  her  ninety-first  year.  In  1803  and  in  1804  he  was  sta- 
tioned again  in  Alexandria ;  and  in  1805  at  Georgetown, 
D.  C.  In  1806  he  located  finally.  He  was  alive  in  1813, 
at  which  time  he  was  sixty-two  years  old.  We  are  not  in 
possession  of  the  time  of  his  death  ;  but  as  he  had  lived  well, 
we  have  no  doubt  but  that  he  died  well.  Such  is  the 
account  of  the  first  native  American  itinerant  Methodist 
preacher.     Mr.  Gatch  says  : — 

"  A  captain  came  from  the  army  to  visit  a  brother  living 
in  the  neighborhood,  who  was  a  Methodist  and  a  captain 
also.  While  at  his  brother's  he  became  concerned  for  the 
salvation  of  his  soul.  He  came  to  my  house  when  I  Avas 
about  leaving  home  to  fill  a  round  of  appointments.  I  pre- 
vailed on  him  to  accompany  me,  and  on  our  tour  he  got 
religion.  Immediately  he  took  his  knife  from  his  pocket, 
cut  the  rufiles  from  his  bosom,  and  had  his  hair — which, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  time,  was  long — cut  off.  After 
preaching  at  a  quarterly  meeting  on  our  route,  I  felt  so 
exhausted  that  I  thought  I  could  have  no  further  enjoyment 


284  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1780. 

of  the  meeting ;  but  God  frequently  makes  his  power  mani- 
fest in  our  weakness.  In  love-feast  the  captain's  servant 
became  graciously  wrought  upon.  My  eye  affected  my  heart. 
Faith  comes  by  seeing  as  well  as  by  hearing.  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  came  upon  me.  In  a  short  time  the  house 
appeared  to  be  filled  with  his  presence,  and  the  work  became 
general.  Some  were  converted.  I  never  had  so  great  a 
blessing  before  in  a  public  congregation.  A  preacher  present 
sought  to  stay  the  exercises,  but  could  not.  He  called  it 
my  wildfire,  but  it  was  the  Lord  who  was  carrying  on  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  fire.  The  flame  wa3 
sweet — one  like  unto  the  Son  of  God  was  with  us. 

"  During  the  summer  I  took  a  tour  into  Hanover  Circuit. 
I  was  at  George  Arnold's,  in  company  with  another  preacher, 
and  we  took  a  walk  into  the  cornfield.  The  corn  was  in 
beautiful  silk.  We  separated  for  the  purpose  of  secret 
prayer.  Here  the  Lord  visited  me  in  an  uncommon  manner. 
His  gracious  Spirit  so  operated  on  my  body,  soul,  and  spirit, 
that  it  was  visible  to  the  preacher  who  was  with  me.  After 
waiting  some  time  on  me,  he  started  to  the  house,  but  the 
cases  of  Enoch  and  Elijah  came  to  his  mind,  and  he  turned 
back  to  see  what  would  become  of  me.  I  felt  in  a  measure 
like  I  was  in  heaven,  and  some  that  I  knew  were  with  me. 

"  When  I  heard  of  the  death  of  Bishop  Asbury,  that  took 
place  at  George  Arnold's,  it  brought  fresh  to  my  recollection 
what  I  had  enjoyed  at  the  same  place,  and  I  felt  assured 
that  he  had  gone  to  rest.  I  was  much  blessed  in  this  journey, 
and  returned  home  in  safety.  My  wife's  heart  was  in  the 
work  when  I  left  home  to  serve  the  Church ;  we  parted  in 
peace,  and  when  I  returned  we  met  in  love.  I  once  started 
to  be  absent  some  time  from  home,  and  finding  that  I  had 
forgotten  a  book  I  intended  to  take  with  me,  I  returned,  and 
my  wife  met  me  with  her  arm  bleeding,  where  it  had  been 
pierced  by  the  spindle  of  a  big  w^heel  which  had  fallen 
against  her.  She  was  so  injured  that  I  thought  it  would  be 
imprudent  for  me  to  leave  home ;  but  she  insisted  that  I 
should  go  on  and  fill  my  appointments.  After  I  left  her  the 
thought  struck  me  that  an  enemy  had  done  this,  but  he  was 
foiled  in  his  purpose. 

*  ^  *  4c  4: 

"  A  great  revival  took  place  in  Powhattan  county,  Va. 
It  commenced  with  the  children  of  Methodist  parents,  and 
extended  into  Baptist  families.  It  spread  generally  over 
the  state  of  Virginia,  and  into  Carolina.  Six  young  men, 
the  fruits  of  this  revival  in  our  neighborhood,  became  preach- 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  285 

ers ;  five  of  them,  namely,  D.  Asbury,  Chastain,  Pope, 
Maxey,  and  Locket,  became  travelling  preachers." — "  Sketch 
of  Rev.  Philip  Gatcli,"  pp.  86  to  89. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 


During  this  year  Methodism  was  gaining  strength  in 
Pennsylvania.  In  1780  Mr.  George  Mair  received  Mr.  Isaac 
Anderson  and  his  companion,  Mrs.  Mary  Lane  Anderson, 
into  the  Methodist  society,  and  there  was  preaching  in  their 
house,  and  sometimes  in  their  school-house.  A  society  was 
raised  up  which  at  one  time  numbered  forty  members ;  but 
as  no  chapel  was  built  in  this  neighborhood,  in  the  change 
of  times  this  society,  which  was  near  the  Valley  Forge,  was 
dissolved.  Mrs.  Mary  L.  Anderson  sojourned  with  the 
Methodists,  as  a  very  consistent  Christian,  for  sixty-seven 
years,  and  died  at  the  house  of  her  son,  Joseph  Everett 
Anderson,  in  her  eighty-fifth  year.  Her  grandson,  the  Rev. 
James  Rush  Anderson,  M.  D.,  is  a  member  of  the  Philadel- 
phia Conference.  Her  descendants  have  generally  cleaved 
to  the  Methodists. 

The  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott  never  made  but  one  preaching 
tour  through  Pennsylvania;  and  we  place  it  in  the  latter  end 
of  the  year  1780.  At  the  sixth  appointment,  which  he  filled 
while  going  round  the  Philadelphia  Circuit,  as  it  was  then 
called,  he  related  to  his  congregation  that  he  had  labored  in 
God's  vineyard  seven  years  up  to  that  time ;  as  he  was  con- 
verted in  1772,  and  began  to  preach  in  1773,  seven  years 
brings  us  up  to  the  above  date  of  1780.  Mr.  Asbury  first 
saw  Mr.  Abbott  in  February,  1781,  at  which  time  he  related 
what  had  been  done,  just  before,  over  the  Delaware  river, 
in  Pennsylvania,  namely,  more  than  twenty  renewed  in  love, 
beside  a  number  converted.  We  shall  endeavor  to  fix  the 
localities  of  the  several  preaching  places  that  he  was  at,  as 
it  will  show  what  ground  the  Methodists  then  occupied  be- 
tween the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna  rivers.  The  reader 
may  find  this  tour  described  in  Abbott's  Life,  pp.  90-113. 

His  first  appointment  was  at  New  Castle,  in  a  tavern  kept 
by  Robert  Furness ;  his  congregation  consisted  of  "a  pack 
of  ruffians"  met  to  mob  him.  One  stood  with  a  bottle  of 
rum  in  his  hand,  swearing  that  he  would  throw  it  at  his 


286  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

head ;  but  Mr.  F.  stood  in  the  door  and  prevented  him.  Mr. 
Abbott  did  not  prophesy  smooth  things  to  them  that  night. 

His  second  appointment  was  at  J.  Stedham's,  in  Wilming- 
ton, where  he  preached  to  a  small  attentive  congregation. 
Some  of  them  were  very  happy.  A  woman  lay  under  the 
power  for  three  hours,  and  said  God  had  given  her  a  clean 
heart.  She  continued  to  cry,  "  0,  daddy  Abbott,  how  can 
I  live !  0  that  I  could  go  to  Jesus!"  She  continued  all 
night  in  prayer. 

Thirdly,  at  J.  H's.  His  congregation  here  were  chiefly 
Baptists ;  hence  we  place  it  in  the  bounds  of  the  Iron  Hill 
Baptist  congregation,  not  far  from  the  Christiana  village. 
He  was  warmly  attacked  by  several  of  his  hearers,  because 
he  preached  universal  redemption,  the  possibility  of  falling 
from  grace,  and  salvation  from  sin  in  this  life.  "  There 
were  two  or  three  sheep  at  this  meeting,  but  they  were  afraid 
to  hold  up  their  heads,"  much  more  to  say  Amen. 

His  fourth  appointment  was  at  Brother  J.  Hersey's,  we 
suppose.  Here  the  congregation  was  large,  and  the  meeting 
was  powerful :  some  crying  aloud  for  mercy.  After  sermon, 
a  dear  old  lady  said  to  him,  "  This  is  the  gospel  trump,  I 
heard  it  sounded  by  Mr.  Whitefield  twenty-five  years  ago." 
At  his  next  appointment  he  preached  to  ten  hard-hearted 
sinners  to  little  effect. 

As  his  sixth  appointment  was  in  a  Presbyterian  settle- 
ment, we  fix  it  in  the  old  White  Clay  Creek  Presbyterian 
congregation,  near  Newark,  Del.  Stopping  to  inquire  the 
way  a  man  ofi'ered  to  go  with  him,  telling  him  there  is  to  be 
a  Methodist  preacher  there,  and  our  preacher  is  to  be  there 
to  trap  him  in  his  discourse.  They  were  joined  by  the 
constable  of  the  place,  who  swore  bitterly  that  the  Methodist 
preacher  (not  thinking  that  he  was  riding  by  his  side) 
should  go  to  jail  that  day.  There  was  a  large  congregation. 
The  man  of  the  house  requested  him  to  preach  in  favor  of 
the  war,  as  it  was  in  a  Presbyterian  neighborhood.  He 
replied  that  he  would  preach  as  God  directed  him.  He 
began,  having  the  constable  just  before  him ;  who,  as  soon 
as  he  saw  that  the  preacher  had  heard  his  profane  conversa- 
tion on  his  way  to  the  meeting,  his  countenance  fell  and  he 
turned  pale.  Brave  man  !  The  power  of  God  rested  on 
the  speaker:  there  was  trembling,  and  flowing  tears  in 
abundance.  After  leaving  his  name  with  them  at  the 
request  of  some  of  them,  he  departed  from  them  unhurt. 
Here  Adam  Cloud  joined  him  to  go  round  the  circuit  with 
him. 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  287 

Seventh — this  was  in  Chester  county,  not  far  from  Union- 
ville.  It  was  a  powerful  meeting ;  and  Brother  Cloud  was 
greatly  tried  with  the  cries  of  the  people. 

His  eighth  appointment  was  in  Goshen,  at  the  Valley 
school-house,  which  was  the  preaching-house  then.  This 
appointment  is  now  called  the  Grrove.  Here,  two  fell  under 
his  powerful  preaching  and  found  peace  to  their  souls.  He 
went  home  with  Brother  Daniel  Meredith,  who  lived  near 
"The  Ship"  tavern  on  the  Lancaster  turnpike,  where  he 
preached  his  ninth  discourse :  some  cried  aloud  for  mercy, 
and  two  fell  to  the  floor.  When  Brother  Cloud  desired  him 
to  quiet  the  people,  he  replied,  "  I  have  not  learned  these 
people  to  cry  and  fall  down,  as  the  people  of  your  neighbor- 
hood say  I  have  learned  the  Jersey  people  to  do." 

His  tenth  appointment  was  among  the  Germans  near 
Soudersburg.  ''  Here  the  Lord  wrought  wonders,  divers 
fell  to  the  floor,  and  several  found  peace.  Many  tarried  to 
hear  what  I  had  seen  through  the  land  of  the  wonderful 
works  of  God.  In  family  prayer  the  power  of  God  came 
upon  me,  in  such  a  manner  that  I  lost  both  the  power  of  my 
body  and  the  use  of  my  speech,  and  cried  out  in  a  strange 
manner.  The  people,  also,  cried  aloud,  and  continued  all 
night  in  prayer." 

At  the  Rev.  Martin  Beam's  he  filled  his  eleventh  appoint- 
ment. Here  he  had  one  of  his  most  remarkable  meetings. 
It  began  at  11  o'clock,  and  ended  next  morning  after 
sunrise.  About  twenty  of  the  Soudersburg  Methodists 
came  with  him  to  Mr.  Beam's,  He  says,  "  When  I  came 
to  my  application,  the  people  fell  all  about  the  house, 
an<l  their  cries  could  be  heard  afar  off".  The  wicked  being 
alarmed,  sprung  to  the  doors  in  haste,  falling  over  each  other 
in  heaps.  To  drown  the  cry  of  mourners  I  gave  out  a 
hymn.  One  of  our  English  friends,  in  attempting  to  raise  it, 
fell  under  the  table  and  lay  like  a  dead  man.  I  gave  it  out 
again  and  asked  another  to  raise  it;  as  soon  as  he  attempted 
it,  he  also,  fell.  I  then  undertook  to  raise  it,  when  the 
power  of  God  came  upon  me  and  I  cried  out  with  amaze- 
ment. Seeing  that  I  was  fighting  against  God,  I  did  not 
attempt  singing  again.  Prayer  was  all  through  the  house, 
up  stairs  and  down  (it  was  an  old  dwelling-house  now  used 
for  religious  meetings),  Mr.  Beam  and  five  or  six  more 
engaged  in  prayer.  A  watch-night  having  been  appointed 
for  the  evening,  as  I  and  Mr.  Beam  were  quietly  withdrawing 
from  the  house,  a  young  man  come  out  and  laid  hold  of  the 
fence,  and  cried  to  God  for  mercy.     '  To  be  sure,'  said  Mr. 


288  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

Beam,  'I  never  saw  God  in  this  way  before.'  I  was  called 
back  to  see  a  person  die.  I  went  to  the  preaching-house ; 
up  stairs  some  lay  crying  for  mercy,  while  others  were 
praising  God.  In  the  preaching-room  they  lay  in  like 
manner.  The  person  said  to  be  dying  lay  gasping.  As  I 
was  about  kneeling  down  to  pray,  it  was  shown  me  that  God 
had  converted  her,  and  I  gave  thanks  to  God,  and  she  arose 
immediately,  and  praised  God  for  what  He  had  done  for  her 
soul.  Many  came  together  to  the  watch-meeting.  After 
much  had  been  said  in  German  and  in  English,  I  arose  and 
spoke,  and  the  Lord  laid  to  His  helping  hand  as  He  had 
done  in  the  daytime.  Divers  fled  out  of  the  house,  leaving 
such  as  were  crying  for  mercy,  and  praising  God,  behind. 
I  went  to  bed  about  midnight ;  and  in  the  morning  I  found 
that  the  people  had  been  engaged  all  night:  the  meeting 
ended  when  the  sun  was  about  an  hour  high."  It  had 
lasted  about  twenty  hours. 

About  forty  of  the  friends  accompanied  Mr.  Abbott  to  his 
twelfth  appointment  on  Mill  Creek,  towards  Lancaster. 
Here,  "  God  laid  to  His  helping  hand,  and  many  cried  aloud 
for  mercy.  One  young  man  was  pov/erfully  wrought  upon 
and  retired  up  stairs,  and  thumped  about  on  the  floor  until 
Mr.  Beam  was  afraid  that  he  would  injure  his  body,  and 
exclaimed,  'To  be  sure,  I  never  saw  God  in  this  way  before.' 
This  young  man  attempting  to  come  down  stairs,  fell  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  hallooed,  'The  devil  is  in  the  chamber  !' 
which  alarmed  the  people,  and  brought  a  damp  over  my 
spirits  ;  as  I  thought  if  I  had  raised  the  devil  I  might  as 
well  go  home.  Some  of  the  people  went  up  stairs,  and 
instead  of  finding  the  devil,  found  a  man  rolling,  groaning, 
and  crying  to  God  for  mercy.  When  I  dismissed  the 
people,  many  wept  around  me;  some  had  found  peace,  and 
others  were  truly  awakened,  and  deeply  convicted."  This 
appointment  was  among  the  Germans,  on  ground  that  Mr. 
Boehm  was  cultivating,  at  Mr.  Bohrer's.  His  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  appointments  were  near  Lancaster :  one  of 
them  was,  most  likely,  at  Mr.  Stoner's,  which  was  an 
appointment  where  Mr.  Beam  preached. 

His  fifteenth  appointment  we  place  in  the  bounds  of  Lea- 
cock  Presbyterian  congregation.  He  had  many  to  preach 
to ;  but  they  were  metal  that  he  could  not  melt ;  and  he  left 
them  and  went  to  his  sixteenth  appointment,  which  seems  to 
have  been  near  New  Holland ;  here  lived  Mr.  Davis,  father 
of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davis,  who  was  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  and  who  died  in  1822,  in  Wash- 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  289 

ington  City.  Also,  Mr.  Isaac  Davis,  an  old  Methodist  who 
died  at  a  great  age.  At  this  appointment  he  found  a  small 
congregation,  and  had  exhortation  and  prajer-meeting.  Two 
young  men  fell  to  the  floor  :  and  when  they  arose,  they  both 
possessed  sanctification.  The  next  day  he  preached  at  this 
place,  and  had  a  good  meeting,  both  in  preaching  and  in 
meeting  class.  At  his  seventeenth  preaching  place  the 
meeting  was  profitable, — in  meeting  the  class,  three  or  four 
professed  sanctification. 

His  eighteenth  appointment  seems  to  have  been  in  the 
bounds  of  the  Upper  Octorara  Presbyterian  congregation. 
Here  he  met  his  friend  James  Sterling,  of  Burlington,  IST.  J. ; 
having  written  to  him  a  few  days  before,  informing  him  how 
God  was  carrying  on  his  work.  The  house  was  crowded. 
Some  cried  for  mercy,  and  others  fell  to  the  floor.  Here  an 
old  Presbyterian  gentleman  told  him  that  his  meetings  of 
noise  and  confusion  were  not  of  the  God  of  order,  but  of  the 
devil.  Mr.  Abbott  replied,  *'  If  this  be  the  work  of  the 
devil,  these  people,  many  of  whom  lay  on  the  floor  as  if  dead, 
when  they  revive,  W'ill  rage,  curse,  and  swear  like  devils." 
His  attention  was  soon  called  to  listen  to  their  notes  of  praise 
to  Jesus  as  they  came  to.  "  Hark,"  said  Mr.  Abbott  to  his 
Presbyterian  opponent,  "  This  is  not  the  language  of  hell, 
but  the  language  of  Canaan." 

At  a  prayer-meeting  in  the  neighborhood  in  the  evening, 
all  present  were  prostrated  on  the  floor  except  Mr.  Abbott 
and  his  opponent,  who  contended  that  it  was  delusion  and 
the  work  of  the  devil.  Eight  professed  sanctification  at  this 
meeting,  and  some  were  justified.  At  his  nineteenth  appoint- 
ment, while  preaching,  he  heard  one  cry,  "  Water !  water  ! 
the  man  is  fainting."  It  was  his  Presbyterian  opponent 
trembling  like  Belshazzar,  who  presently  fell  to  the  floor, 
and  after  a  struggle  lay  as  one  dead.  After  the  class  was 
met,  and  about  the  time  the  meeting  ended,  he  revived. 
There  was  no  disputing  about  the  character  of  the  work  now; 
the  knock-down  argument  that  he  had  met  had  settled  the 
question  with  him.  At  Mr.  Abbott's  next  appointment  he 
arose  and  gave  an  exhortation,  admitting  that  the  power  of 
God  was  manifested  in  these  meetings  as  he  never  had  seen 
it  before. 

At  his  twentieth  appointment,  the  people  were  so  much 
interested  that  they  were  unwilling  to  leave  the  place,  after 
Mr.  Abbott  had  exhausted  his  strength  in  preaching  to  them  ; 
and  Brother  Cloud,  who  had  been  with  him  some  two  weeks, 
and  had  become  something  of  a  convert  to  these  powerful 
25 


290  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

meetings,  arose  and  gave  a  pertinent  exhortation.  One 
woman  fell  to  the  floor,  and  when  she  arose  testified  that 
God  had  sanctified  her  soul.  A  young  man  was  so  deeply 
awakened,  that  when  he  reached  home  he  fell  like  a  log  of 
wood  on  the  floor,  and  called  on  God  to  have  mercy  on  him 
until  midnight.  Next  morning  Mr.  Abbott  was  sent  for  to 
see  the  young  man.  After  asking  him  some  questions,  he 
assured  him  that  God  had  converted  his  soul,  whereupon  the 
youth  arose  and  gave  glory  to  God.  Mr.  Abbott  congratu- 
lated the  mother  that  she  had  a  son  born  again.  But  the 
mother  cried  out,  "  Away  with  you,  I  want  no  more  of  you 
here.  Whitefield  was  here  before  you,  like  you,  turning  the 
world  upside  down,  and  driving  the  people  mad.  I  want  no 
more  of  your  being  born  again." 

This  old  lady  could  not  have  paid  a  much  greater  compli- 
ment to  Mr.  Abbott  than  she  did  by  comparing  him  to  Mr. 
Whitefield.  She  should  have  belonged  to  a  congregation 
down  east,  whose  minister  blotted  "  Ye  must  be  born  again" 
from  his  sermon,  because  a  man  was  made  uneasy  by  hearing 
him  read  it. 

His  meeting  was  small  and  unsuccessful  at  his  twenty-first 
appointment.  From,  it  he  went  home  with  a  friendly  Quaker. 
While  conversing  with  his  Quaker  brother  on  his  experience, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  came  on  him  so  powerfully  that  he 
fell  and  cried  so  loud  that  the  people  at  the  barn  heard  Lim, 
and  came  running  into  the  house;  but  hastening  out  as 
quickly  with  fear.  As  soon  as  he  recovered  he  looked  round 
and  saw  them  all  in  tears.  Some  of  the  Friends  blessed 
God  that  they  had  ever  seen  such  a  mian  ;  and  invited  him 
to  preach  in  their  meeting-house.  Thus  Mr.  Abbott  passed 
through  evil  and  good  report.  Yesterday,  the  old  church 
lady  had  bidden  him  away,  because  her  son  was  born  again. 
To-day,  the  Friends,  not  always  the  most  liberal,  were  fol- 
lowing him  with  delight  —  thus  smiles  and  frowns  were 
blended.  The  last  three  appointments  that  he  had  filled, 
seem  to  have  been  east  of  the  Welsh  Mountain,  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Brandywine.  At  his  twenty-second  appoint- 
ment he  had  a  large  congregation  and  a  good  meeting :  the 
woman  of  the  house  was  struck  to  the  floor — she  followed 
him  to  his  next  place  of  preaching,  where  she  was  powerfully 
blest,  and  returned  home  rejoicing. 

His  twenty-third  appointment  was,  undoubtedly,  in  the 
little  old  stone  chapel  called  Old  Forest,  in  the  edge  of  Berks 
county.  Here  some  fell  under  the  power,  others  ran  out  of 
the  house.     One  woman  going  out  met  another  coming  in, 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  291 

and  said  to  her:  "Do  not  go  in,  for  you  cannot  stand  it." 
Several  professed  to  find  peace,  and  others  holiness  of  heart. 
"There  was  the  shout  of  a  king  in  the  camp."  Many  said 
it  was  the  greatest  day  they  ever  had  seen  in  that  place, 
though  they  had  sat  under  the  zealous  loud  preaching  of 
Demour,  who  had  raised  up  that  meeting.  Messrs.  Abraham 
Lewis  and  Joseph  Kerberry  were  two  principal  men  belong- 
ing to  this  meeting ;  with  one  of  these  he  put  up,  and  held 
a  powerful  prayer-meeting  in  the  evening  at  the  house  of 
the  other. 

Mr.  David  Hoffman  informed  us  that  he  was  living  with 
either  Lewis  or  Kerberry,  and  remembered  Mr.  Abbott's 
visit  in  1780.  Brother  Hoffman  was  a  local  preacher,  con- 
nected with  Old  Forest  for  many  years.  After  being  a 
Methodist  for  about  seventy  years,  he  died,  a  few  years 
since,  nearly  ninety  years  old. 

His  twenty-fourth  appointment  was  most  likely  at  Benson's, 
near  the  Little  Eagle  Tavern,  where  there  was  a  society,  and 
the  following  year  a  chapel  was  built.  Here  many  flocked 
together.  His  abundant  labors  had  exhausted  his  energies, 
and  brought  on  fainting  fits — a  nervous  sensation  that  he 
had  never  before  experienced.  He  proceeded  in  the  exer^ 
cises, — the  panic  left  him,  and  he  had  a  powerful  meeting, 
and  a  precious  time  in  meeting  the  class.  At  this  appoint- 
ment several  were  under  awakening  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
One  woman  informed  him  that  she  was  brought  under  con- 
viction by  going  into  the  Roman  chapel  (could  this  have 
been  the  little  old  chapel  in  West  Chester  ?  We  know  of  no 
other  in  that  section  of  the  country)  out  of  curiosity,  where 
ehe  saw  the  representation  of  Christ  on  the  Cross,  and  the 
blood  running  down  His  side.  She  became  awfully  im- 
pressed on  account  of  her  guilt,  and  soon  after  foand  peace 
and  joined  society. 

His  twenty-fifth  appointment  was  at  Warwick,  or  Potts's 
Furnace.  "  He  says  :  "  This  place,  for  wickedness,  was  next 
door  to  hell.  Here  they  swore  they  would  shoot  me.  Mrs. 
Grace  (the  owner  of  the  furnace)  being  unable  to  attend  this 
meeting  on  account  of  indisposition,  sent  a  person  to  moderate 
the  furnace-men  and  colliers.  I  went  into  the  house  and 
preached  with  great  liberty.  Several  of  the  colliers'  faces 
were  all  in  streaks  where  the  tears  ran  down  their  cheeks. 
Brother  Sterling  gave  an  exhortation.  After  meeting  we 
went  to  Mrs.  Grace's  (who  lived  at  Coventry).  The  old  lady 
took  me  by  the  hand,  and  said:  'I  never  was  so  glad  to  see 
a  man  in  tiie  world;  for  I  was  afraid  that  some  of  the  fur- 


292  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

nace-men  had  killed  you.'  "  The  next  day  he  preached  his 
twenty-sixth  sermon  in  her  house  to  a  weeping  company, 
and  had  a  precious  time.  At  night  Brother  Cloud  preached, 
and  Brother  Sterling  exhorted.  Next  morning,  in  family 
prayer,  "  The  windows  of  heaven  were  opened,  and  the  Spirit 
of  God  came  as  on  the  day  of  Pentecost;  her  daughter 
(Mrs.  Potts)  found  peace,  and  one  of  her  granddaughters 
was  under  soul  distress,  while  the  old  lady  was  on  the  wing 
for  glory."  Here  Brother  Sterling  left  him  for  Burlington, 
and  Brother  Cloud  went  to  his  home  near  Wilmington. 

His  twenty-seventh  appointment  was  at  David  Ford's, 
near  Cloud's  Chapel,  now  Bethel.  "  Here  the  people  were 
afraid  to  sit  near  me,  having  heard  that  the  people  on  the 
circuit  fell  like  dead  men.  I  preached,  and  we  had  a  pow- 
erful time — many  were  cut  to  the  heart,  some  fell  to  the 
floor,  and  several  cried  aloud  for  mercy." 

His  twenty-eighth  appointment  was  at  Cloud's  Meeting- 
house. This  is  the  earliest  notice  that  we  have  of  this  chapel, 
which  was  just  opened  for  worship.  After  preaching,  he 
held  a  prayer-meeting  at  night.  "It  was  a  powerful,  melt- 
ing, shouting  time.     Several  were  lost  in  the  ocean  of  love." 

In  Wilmington  he  preached  his  twenty-ninth  sermon  in  an 
old  store-house  on  the  wharf.  "  Some  people  went  through 
the  town  and  said  there  was  an  old  sailor  cursing  and  swear- 
ing at  a  terrible  rate ;  this  brought  the  people  together  from 
every  quarter,  and  the  house  and  wharf  was  crowded.  Some 
laughed,  some  mocked,  and  others  wept ;  some  were  awakened, 
and  inquired  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  I  told  them 
to  look  to  Jesus." 

In  this  tour  Mr.  Abbott  had  travelled  over  all  the  ground 
that  the  Methodists  then  had  under  cultivation  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, except  Philadelphia,  and  Bethel,  in  Montgomery 
county,  with  Grermantown, — the  two  last-named  appointments 
were  rather  occasional  than  regular  ones.  He  had  spent 
about  a  month  in  going  round  the  circuit,  and  had  preached 
at  least  twenty-nine  times,  met  ten  or  twelve  classes,  held 
one  watch-night,  and  four  or  five  prayer-meetings.  He  had 
heard  more  than  twenty  declare  that  God  had  renewed  them 
in  love  ;  and  an  equal  number  had  testified  that  they  had 
found  redemption  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  even  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins ;  besides  the  scores,  if  not  hundreds,  that  had 
been  awakened  under  his  thunder.  Seldom  do  we  meet  with 
a  month's  tour,  in  the  records  of  Methodism,  that  abounds 
more  with  striking  incidents,  or  in  which  there  was  more 
fervent  labor,  and  greater  displays  of   divine   power.     At 


1780.] 


IN    AMERICA. 


293 


that  day,  and  especially  with  Mr.  Abbott,  family  prayer  was 
not  an  exercise  of  mere  form  ;  but  the  same  faith  in  Christ 
was  in  exercise,  and  expectation  of  a  present  salvation  from 
Him  was  looked  for  as  much  as  in  meetings  of  preaching 
and  exhortation.  Hence,  in  family  worship,  he  had,  seals  in 
the  conversion  of  souls,  as  well  as  in  other  meetings  ;  this 
was  the  case  at  Coventry,  and  in  other  instances  of  family 
worship. 


CHAPTER   XLV. 


For  the  last  three  years  the  iron  heel  of  war  had  been 
treading  down  Methodism  in  New  Jersey.  At  the  Confer- 
ence held  in  Baltimore  in  1780,  Mr.  Asbury  received  three 
epistles  from  the  brethren  of  Jersey,  soliciting  three  or  four 
preachers  to  be  sent  to  them,  with  good  tidings  of  great 
prospects  of  the  work  of  God  reviving  among  them.  Accord- 
ingly three  preachers — to  wit,  William  Gill,  John  James, 
and  Richard  Garrettson,  were  sent  to  serve  the  state.  It 
appears  that  the  work  of  God  did  greatly  prosper  in  Jersey 
this  year  ;  the  number  of  Methodists  increasing  from  196  to 
512;  and  Methodism  was  never  reduced  as  low  in  Jersey 
after  1780,  as  it  v/as  before  that  time.  Up  to  this  time  what 
few  Methodists  were  found  in  this  state  were  in  Salem, 
Gloucester,  Burlington,  and  Mercer  counties,  Avhile  they 
were  almost  unknown  in  Cumberland,  Cape  May,  and  Mon- 
mouth counties.  It  was  during  this  year  that  Methodism 
was  introduced  into  the  last-named  three  counties,  and 
planted  on  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  this  state. 

Of  Mr.  John  James,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ware  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  his  labors  this  year  in  Cumberland  and 
Cape  May  counties,  where  he  was  a  pioneer : — "  He  threw 
the  reins  on  the  neck  of  his  horse  and  let  him  take  his  own 
course  ;  and  on  coming  to  a  house  he  would  inform  the  family 
that  he  had  come  to  warn  them  and  their  neiglibors  to  pre- 
pare to  meet  God,  desiring  them  to  give  notice  that  on  such 
a  day  one  would  be  there  to  deliver  a  message  from  God  to 
them  ;  and  if  they  allowed  him  he  would  sing  and  pray  with 
them  before  he  left  them.  Some  families  w^ere  much  affected, 
and  felt  bound  to  do  as  he  desired  them.  Others  refused  to 
open  their  houses  to  him  or  invite  their  neighbors.  Those 
who  made  appointments  for  him,  found  him  punctual  in 
25* 


294  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1780 

attending  them.  This  course  soon  caused  alarm  and  excite- 
ment in  many  places  :  some  thought  him  a  messenger  from 
the  invisible  world,  and  some  said  '  he  is  mad.'  One  evening 
he  came  to  the  house  of  Captain  Sears,  and  requested  lodg- 
ings. The  Captain  was  in  the  yard  surrounded  by  noisy 
barking  dogs,  which  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  understand 
the  nature  of  the  favor  asked.  In  a  fit  of  passion  he  began 
to  swear  at  the  dogs,  for  which  the  preacher  reproved  him. 
When  he  could  be  heard  he  renewed  his  request  to  stay  all 
night.  The  Captain  looking  at  him,  paused  some  time  and 
replied,  '  I  hate  to  let  you  stay  the  worst  of  any  man  I  ever 
saw ;  but  as  I  never  refused  a  stranger  a  night's  lodging  in 
my  life,  you  may  alight.' 

"  Soon  after  entering  the  house  he  requested  a  private 
room  and  retired.  Curious  to  know  for  what  he  had  retired, 
the  family  found  means  to  ascertain,  when  it  was  found  that 
he  was  on  his  knees.  After  continuing  a  long  time  in  secret, 
he  came  into  the  parlor  and  found  supper  ready.  The  Cap- 
tain seating  himself  at  the  table  invited  his  guest  to  partake 
with  him ;  who,  coming  to  the  table,  said,  '  With  your  per- 
mission, Captain,  I  will  ask  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our 
food  before  we  partake  of  it,' — to  which  the  Captain  assented. 
During  the  evening  the  preacher  had  occasion  to  reprove  his 
host  several  times  for  profaneness.  In  a  few  days  the 
Captain  attended  a  military  parade.  His  men,  having 
heard  that  the  man  who  had  made  so  much  noise  in  that 
region  had  spent  a  night  with  him,  asked  him  what  he  thought 
of  this  singular  person.  '  Do  you  ask  what  I  think  of  the 
stranger?  I  know  he  is  a  man  of  God.'  'Pray,  how  do 
you  know  that,  Captain  ?'  said  one.  '  How  do  I  know  it  ? 
I  will  tell  you  honestly — the  devil  trembled  in  me  at  his 
reproofs.'  The  Captain  became  a  useful  Methodist,  and  an 
exemplary  Christian."  In  this  way  was  Methodism  intro- 
duced into  Cumberland  and  Cape  May  counties. 

The  following  were  some  of  the  appointments  made  about 
this  time  in  this  part  of  New  Jersey : — New  England  Town, 
Cohansey  (now  Bridgetown),  Maurice's  Hiver  (now  Port 
Elizabeth),  Brother  Gough's,  Peter  Creassey's,  Godfrey's, 
Wolsey's  (possibly  this  name  should  be  written  Woolson,  as 
it  may  have  been  the  same  family  out  of  which  the  Rev. 
John  Woolson,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  came),  and 
Mr.  Smith's,  on  Tuckahoe  river.  These  appointments  were 
in  Cumberland  and  Cape  May  counties.  In  what  was  then 
Gloucester,  but  now  Atlantic  county,  there  was  preaching  at 
Justice  Champion's  and  Brother  Hew's,  not  far  from  May's 


1780.]  IN    AMERICA.  295 


Landing,  on  Great  Egg  Harbor  river.  The  "Wiretown  or 
Waretown  appointment  seems  to  have  been  near  to  what  is 
now  called  Cedar  Bridge,  if  it  was  not  the  same  place  ;  and 
Goodluck  was  not  far  from  it.  In  Monmouth  county,  appoint- 
ments were  made  at  Justice  Aiken's,  on  Tom's  River,  at 
Long  Branch,  Freehold,  and  Leonard's.  There  was  preach- 
ing also  at  Batstow  Furnace.  At  a  later  date  preaching  was 
established  at  Pleasant  Mills,  Absecombe,  Tackerton,  Squam 
River,  Shark  River,  Mount  Pleasant,  and  Shrewsbury. 
There  were  several  other  appointments  which  we  cannot 
specify. 

Of  those  who  became  Methodists  about  this  time  we  have 
already  named,  Captain  Sears,  Brothers  Gough,  Creassey, 
Godfrey,  Wolsey,  Smith,  Champion,  Hews,  Aiken,  and 
Leonard.  To  these  we  will  add  the  following  names  as 
belonging  to  the  early  Methodists  of  this  region.  On  Maurice's 
River  were  the  Fisler's ;  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Fisler  was  for 
a  short  time  a  travelling  preacher.  After  a  long  race  on  the 
Christian  course  he  died  at  Port  Elizabeth,  where  some  of 
his  children  are  still  found,  and  several  of  his  relations  by 
the  same  name,  who  generally  adhere  to  the  Methodists,  are 
in  that  region.  In  the  same  neighborhood  is  the  Brick  fam- 
ily— some  of  this  name  were  Methodists  seventy  years  ago. 
About  Tuckahoe,  it  seems,  the  Swains  lived  :  Richard  and 
Nathan  were  both  in  the  itinerancy.  Richard  was  a  great 
natural  philosopher,  as  well  as  a  good  man ;  he  died  early  in 
the  present  century.  His  brother  Nathan  lived  to  a  good 
old  age,  continuing  faithful  until  death.  From  Tuckahoe 
came  the  Rev.  Asa  Smith,  who  was  long  a  member  of  the 
Philadelphia  Conference.  About  Egg  Harbor  were  the  Black- 
mans.  Abigail  Blackman,  an  old  Methodist,  died  in  1827, 
aged  seventy-four  years.  David  and  Mary  his  wife,  belonged 
here.  Their  son,  the  Rev.  Learner  Blackman,  was  a  travelling 
preacher  of  distinction,  and  was  drowned  while  crossing  the 
Ohio  river  in  1815.  His  mother  died  in  1827,  aged  seventy-four 
years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frambes  belonged  to  the  society  at  Egg 
Harbor  in  1780,  when  it  was  first  formed.  Mary  Frambes, 
after  a  faithful  life  of  forty-six  years  among  the  Methodists, 
died  in  1826,  aged  eighty-eight  years,  leaving  160  lineal  de- 
scendants. The  Rev.  Absalom  Doughty  of  this  region  was  an 
early  Methodist.  After  a  life  of  more  than  fifty  years  of  true 
devotion  to  Christianity,  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  in  his  eightieth 
year  at  Absecombe.  At  Batstow  Furnace  lived  Freedom  Lucas, 
one  of  the  first  Methodists  of  the  place  ;  it  appears  that  he 
fell  heir  to  an  estate  in  England  about  this  time.  Mr.  Simon 


296  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

Lucas,  who  was  in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  a 
convert  of  David  Brainerd's,  and  a  Methodist  for  fifty  years, 
most  of  which  time  he  was  a  local  preacher,  died  in  Atlantic 
county  in  his  eighty-eighth  year. 

In  1780,  in  Monmouth  county,  Job  Throckmorton  was 
awakened  and  converted  under  the  preaching  of  the  Rev. 
Richard  Garrettson.  He  was  one  of  the  first  Methodists  in 
the  county,  and  his  house  one  of  the  first  homes  that  the 
preachers  had  in  that  section  of  country.  He  died  at  his 
residence  in  Freehold,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year.  John  and 
James,  and  many  more  of  the  Throckmortons  of  this  county, 
have  followed  the  Methodists  since  1780. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lippincott,  of  Monmouth,  were  among  the 
early  Methodists.  In  the  neighborhood  where  they  lived 
there  were  several  sects,  such  as  Friends,  Episcopalians, 
Presbyterians,  Seventh  Day  Baptists,  and  Long  Beards,  or 
Dunkards.  Mrs.  Ann  Lippincott  was  brought  under  deep 
concern  of  soul  while  young;  and  in  this  state  she  tried  to 
obtain  light  from  the  sects  professing  Christianity,  among 
w^hom  she  lived;  but  found  herself  still  in  the  dark,  as  to  the 
great  question,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  Not  long 
after,  she  dreamed  that  she  was  at  a  certain  place,  where 
there  was  a  large  concourse  of  people,  where  she  saw  a  man 
dressed  in  home-spun  linen,  of  a  purple  color,  having  a  roll  in 
his  hand,  inviting  the  people  to  enlist  with  him  to  go  to 
heaven.  About  this  time  there  began  to  be  much  talk  about 
a  people  that  had  arisen  in  England  called  Methodists,  some 
of  whom  had  come  to  America.  Hearing  that  one  of  this 
sect  was  to  preach  in  the  neighborhood,  she  went  with  her 
husband  to  hear  him.  There  she  saw  a  large  assembly  of 
people,  and  a  man,  like  unto  the  one  she  had  seen  in  her 
dream,  who  imparted  to  her  the  light  she  had  been  seeking, 
and  plainly  opened  up  the  way  to  heaven  to  her  understand- 
ing. Under  the  discourse  her  husband's  heart  was  touched ; 
and  when  the  preacher  presented  the  roll  or  class  paper,  and 
invited  all  who  wanted  to  go  to  heaven,  to  come  forward  and 
have  their  names  put  down,  she  pressed  through  the  crowd 
to  the  preacher,  determined  to  have  her  name  on  the  roll, 
if  no  one  beside  herself  joined  that  day;  but  before  she 
reached  the  minister,  her  husband  had  made  his  way  through 
the  people,  and  ordered  his  name  to  be  put  on  the  class  paper. 
After  spending  many  years  in  the  service  of  the  Redeemer, 
she  departed,  joyfully,  to  meet  her  Saviour,  in  her  eighty- 
seventh  year. 

In  Monmouth  county  lived  the  Poiemus  family ;  some  of 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  297 

them  were  early  Methodists.  The  Rev.  James  Polemus  was 
received  into  the  Philadelphia  Conference  about  1800,  and 
reached  paradise  in  1827.  Who  ever  beheld  a  more  sanctified 
countenance  than  this  good  man  wore  ?  Who  ever  looked  at 
him,  and  might  not  conclude  that  he  more  properly  belonged 
to  heaven  than  to  earth,  while  he  sojourned  with  mortals ! 
such  innocence  !  such  meekness  !  such  purity !  were  stamped 
on  his  face!     Blessed  man! 

Ann  Robins,  wife  of  Moses  Robins,  of  this  county,  be- 
came a  Methodist  about  this  time.  She  died  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1828,  in  her  eighty-ninth  year,  and  is  buried  at  the  Union 
Church.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Parker,  of  Long  Branch,  after  a 
faithful  life  of  sixty  years,  went  to  his  reward  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  In  Monmouth  county  lived  the  WooUey  family; 
some  of  these  were  among  the  first  Methodists  of  the  region. 
Out  of  this  family  came  the  Rev.  George  Woolley,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  forty  years.  He 
finished  his  course,  and  ended  his  suiferings  in  Cecil  county, 
Md.,  in  1843,  in  his  seventy-fifth  year,  and  was  interred  at 
Port  Deposit. 

The  Cranmers  and  Grandins  of  this  county,  joined  at  this 
time.  Mrs.  Amy  Granding,  after  living  in  fellowship  for 
many  years  with  the  Methodists,  went  to  glory  in  her  eighty- 
ninth  year  ;  and  Mr.  Edward  Cranmer,  in  his  seventy-seventh 
year. 

In  after  years,  the  preachers  found  homes  and  accommo- 
dations, on  the  Atlantic  coasts,  in  the  families  of  Brothers 
Peacock,  Peterson,  Richards,  Brown,  Chamberlain,  Wood- 
massie,  Newman,  White,  and  Derrick  Longstreet,  with  his 
sixteen  fine  healthy  children. 

It  was  in  1780  that  Mr.  Hugh  Smith  and  several  of  the 
friends  went  to  quarterly  meeting,  leaving  Mr.  Abbott  at 
home  sick.  Mr.  Abbott  followed  them.  R.  G.,  i.  e.  Richard 
Garrettson,  preached.  Mr.  Abbott  followed  in  exhortation, 
speaking  of  his  inability  to  come  to  the  meeting, — of  his 
impression  to  try  to  ride, — as  soon  as  he  put  his  foot  in  the 
stirrup  he  felt  the  power  of  God  come  upon  him,  &c.  As 
he  spoke  these  words  the  power  came  upon  the  assem- 
bly. Mr.  Smith,  with  many  others,  fell  to  the  floor,  crying 
aloud.  Mr.  Smith  was  not  as  yet  born  again.  A  glorious 
time  followed  at  that  meeting.  (See  Abbott's  Life,  pp. 
282,  283.) 

It  seems  to  have  been  about  the  year  1780  when  Method- 
ism was  established  in  Deerfield.  Mr.  Abbott  received  a 
letter  from  a  pious  Presbyterian  of  the  place,  telling  him 


298  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1780, 

"  that  his  house  and  heart  were  open  to  receive  him,  and 
that  they  had  sinners  in  Deerfield,  desiring  him  to  look  upon 
his  lines  as  a  call  from  God."  An  appointment  was  made, 
which  was  filled  by  Mr.  Abbott  on  the  following  Sabbath. 
There  was  some  tenderness  manifested  by  the  hearers  ;  and 
under  his  next  discourse  the  people  were  melted.  This  and 
several  other  places  in  the  neighborhood,  became  regular 
preaching  places  for  the  itinerants,  and  were  taken  into  the 
circuit.  A  revival  followed,  and  two  societies  were  raised 
up.  In  this  revival  the  people  fell  like  men  slain  in  battle. 
Many  of  the  Presbyterians  joined  the  Methodist  society  and 
stood  fast,  though  some  of  them  were  brought  before  the 
sessions  of  the  Church  for  so  doing. 

It  was  a  common  occurrence  in  that  age  for  the  pulpits 
of  other  ministers  to  ring  Avith  denunciations  of  Methodism 
and  its  propagators.  At  New  England  Town,  the  Presby- 
terian minister  solemnly  warned  his  congregation  against 
hearing  Methodist  preachers.  At  Cohansey  (now  Bridge- 
town), Mr.  Vantull  dealt  his  blows  unsparingly  on  the  first 
Methodists,  and  their  friends  in  that  place.  To  specify, 
would  be  an  almost  endless  task ;  it  was  a  rule  that  had  but 
few  exceptions,  for  the  Methodists  to  meet  with  such  ireat- 
ment  from  ministers  of  other  denominations.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  it  taught  Methodist  preachers  to  fight, 
who,  as  soon  as  Methodism  was  established,  turned  upon 
them,  and  gave  battle  to  them  until  they  were  glad  to  haul 
down  their  colors,  and  ask  a  truce.  We  heard  the  Rev. 
Charles  Pitman,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Jersey,  give  certain 
ministers  a  talk  that  made  some  of  their  people,  who  were 
present  to  hear  it,  cry  like  whipped  children.  A  gentleman 
once  said,  that  he  would  not  for  five  hundred  dollars  have 
been  in  the  place  of  a  certain  Church  minister,  who  sat  under 
the  scathing  rebukes  of  the  Rev.  Solomon  Sharp,  at  a  camp- 
meeting  in  Talbot  county,  Md.  This  war  between  the 
Methodists  and  other  Protestant  denominations,  with  the 
exception  of  a  little  skirmishing  occasionally,  seems  to  be 
over. 

According  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ware,  there  was  a  great 
work  going  on  in  Mercer  county,  N.  J.,  in  1780,  in  which 
year  it  is  supposed  he  became  a  Methodist.  There  is  reason 
to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  above  date.  In  1780,  Mr.  Pedi- 
cord,  v/ho  was  the  instrument  of  Mr.  Ware's  conversion,  was 
appointed,  according  to  the  Minutes,  to  labor  in  Delaware 
state  ;  and  the  Journal  of  Mr.  Asbury  shows  that  he  was 
preaching  on  the  Peninsula ;  nor  is  there  any  conclusive  evi- 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  299 

dence  that  he  was  in  New  Jersey  at  all  in  1780 — and  Mr. 
Mair  was  appointed  to  Philadelphia  Circuit  this  year.  As 
Mr.  Ware  wrote  his  Life  when  he  was  old,  if  we  suppose 
that  his  memory  failed  as  to  the  above  date,  as  it  appears  that 
it  did  as  to  the  time  of  the  conversion  of  General  Russell 
and  his  lady,  which  he  states  took  place  in  1788 — but  which 
Bishops  Asbury  and  Whatcoat,  who  kept  journals,  say  took 
place  in  1790 — and  take  1781  as  the  true  date,  every  cir- 
cumstance will  corroborate  ;  for  in  the  Minutes,  C.  B.  Pedi- 
cord  and  J.  Cromwell  stand  for  West  Jersey  ;  and  Mr.  Mair 
has  no  work  assigned  him  in  the  Minutes  for  this  year,  and 
was  at  liberty  to  "volunteer  as  a  missionary  for  East  Jersey," 
as  Mr.  Ware  says  he  did.  Nor  was  it  customary  at  that 
d  iv,  to  let  a  young  man  of  as  much  promise  as  Mr.  Ware  was, 
remain  at  home  three  years  before  he  was  put  in  the  itiner- 
ant harness.  Mr.  Rodda  began  to  break  Mr.  Garrettson 
into  the  itinerancy,  as  soon  as  he  was  converted.  We,  there- 
fore, suppose  that  1781  is  the  correct  date  of  Mr.  Ware's 
conversion,  and  the  time  of  Mr.  Mair's  labors  in  East  Jersey, 
and  the  love-feast.  We  have  seen  many  accounts  of  love- 
feasts  ;  but  never  met  with  one  that  read  so  well  when  trans- 
ferred to  paper,  as  the  one  which  follows.  (See  "  Life  of 
Thomas  Ware,"  pp.  62-69.) 

"  Mr.  Mair  closed  his  labors  among  his  spiritual  children 
with  a  quarterly-meeting.  Great  power  attended  the  word 
on  Saturday  ;  many  wept  aloud — some  for  joy,  and  some  for 
grief;  many,  filled  with  amazement,  fled — and  thus  room 
was  made  for  the  preachers  to  go  among  the  mourners,  to 
pray  with,  and  exhort  them  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Early  on  Sabbath  morning,  believers  and  seekers  met  in  a 
barn  for  a  love-feast.  To  most  of  them,  this  was  the  first 
love-feast  they  had  been  in.  Its  nature  was  explained  to 
them  by  Mr.  Mair ;  and  Mr.  James  Sterling,  of  Burlington, 
led  oif  in  speaking  his  experience.  After  him,  Mr.  Egbert, 
one  of  the  new  converts,  arose  and  said:  *I  was  standing  in 
my  door,  and  saw  a  man  well  mounted  on  horseback,  and  as 
he  drew  near  I  had  thoughts  of  hailing  him  to  inquire  the 
news ;  but  he  forestalled  me  by  turning  into  my  yard  and 
saying  to  me — "  Pray,  sir,  can  you  tell  me  the  way  to 
heaven?"  "The  way  to  heaven,  sir!  we  all  hope  to  get  to 
heaven,  and  there  are  many  ways  that  men  take."  "Ah! 
but,"  said  the  stranger,  "  I  want  to  know  the  best  way." 
"Alight,  sir,  if  you  please  ;  I  should  like  to  hear  you  talk 
about  the  way  you  deem  the  best.  When  I  was  a  boy  I  used 
to  hear  my  mother  talk  about  the  way  to  heaven,  and  I  am 


300  IlISE    OF    METHODISM  [1780. 

impressed  that  you  must  know  the  way."  He  did  alight, 
and  I  was  soon^convinced  that  the  judgment  I  had  formed 
of  the  stranger  was  correct.  My  doors  were  opened,  and 
my  neighbors  were  invited  to  come  and  see  and  hear  a  man 
who  could  and  would  tell  us  the  best  way  to  heaven.  And, 
it  was  not  long  before  myself,  my  wife,  and  several  of  my 
family,  together  with  many  of  my  neighbors,  were  well 
assured  we  were  in  the  way ;  for  we  had  peace  with  God, 
with  one  another,  and  did  frequently  pray  for  the  peace  and 
salvation  of  all  men.  Tell  me,  friends,  is  not  this  the  way 
to  heaven  ?  It  is  true,  many  of  us  were  for  a  time  greatly 
alarmed  and  troubled.  We  communed  together,  and  said, 
It  is  a  doubtful  case  if  God  will  have  mercy  on  us,  and  for- 
give us  our  sins ;  and  if  He  does,  it  must  be  after  we  have 
passed  through  long  and  deep  repentance.  But  our  mis- 
sionary, to  whom  we  jointly  made  known  our  unbelieving 
fears,  said  to  us,  "  Cheer  up,  my  friends,  ye  are  not  far  from 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Can  any  of  you  be  a  greater  sinner 
than  Saul  of  Tarsus?  and  how  long  did  it  take  him  to 
repent?  Three  days  were  all.  The  Philippian  jailor,  too, 
in  the  same  hour  in  which  he  was  convicted,  was  baptized, 
rejoicing  in  God,  with  all  his  house.  Come,  let  us  have  faith 
in  God ;  come,  let  us  go  down  upon  our  knees,  and  claim 
the  merit  of  Christ's  death  for  the  remission  of  our  sins, 
and  God  will  forgive.  Look  to  yourselves,  God  is  here  !" 
Instantly,  one  who  was  I  thought  the  greatest  sinner  in  the 
house,  except  myself,  fell  to  the  floor  as  one  dead — and  we 
thought  he  was  dead ;  but  he  was  not  literally  dead,  for 
there  he  sits  with  as  significant  a  smile  as  any  one  present. 
Here,  the  youth  of  whom  he  spoke,  uttered  the  word  glory, 
with  a  look,  and  tone  of  voice  that  ran  through  the  audience 
like  an  electric  shock,  and  for  a  time  interrupted  the  speaker; 
but  he  resumed  by  saying,  "  The  preacher  bid  us  not  be 
alarmed — we  must  all  die  to  live."  Instantly  I  caught  him 
in  my  arms,  and  exclaimed.  The  guilt  I  felt,  and  the  venge- 
ance I  feared  are  gone — and  now,  I  know  heaven  is  not  far 
off;  but  here,  and  there,  and  wherever  Jesus  manifests 
himself,  is  heaven.'  Here  his  powers  of  speech  failed,  and 
he  sat  down  and  wept ;  and  there  was  not,  I  think,  one  dry 
eye  in  the  barn. 

"  A  German  spoke  next ;  and  if  I  could  tell  what  he 
said,  as  told  by  him,  it  would  be  worth  a  place  in  any  man's 
memory.  He  spoke  to  the  following  import :  When  de 
preacher  did  come  to  mine  house,  and  did  say.  Peace  be  on 
dis  habitation ;  I  am  come,  fader,  to  see  if  in  dese  trouble- 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  301 

some  times  I  can  find  any  in  your  parts  dat  does  know  de 
way  to  dat  country  where  war,  sorrow,  and  crying  are  no 
more — and  of  whom  could  I  inquire  so  properly  as  of  one  to 
whom  God  has  given  many  days  ?  When  he  did  say  dis,  I 
was  angry,  and  did  try  to  say  to  him.  Go  out  of  mine  house ; 
but  I  could  not  speak,  but  did  tremble,  and,  when  mine 
anger  was  gone  I  did  say,  I  does  fear  I  does  not  know  de 
way  to  dat  goodest  place,  but  mine  wife  does  know  ;  sit  down, 
and  I  will  call  her.  Just  den,  mine  wife  did  come  in ;  and 
de  stranger  did  say,  Dis,  fader,  is,  I  presume,  your  wife,  of 
whom  you  say  she  does  know  de  way  to^a  better  country,  de 
way  to  heaven. 

*'  Dear  woman,  will  you  tell  it  me  ?  After  mine  wife  did 
look  at  de  stranger  one  minute,  she  did  say,  I  do  know  Jesus, 
and  is  not  He  de  way  ?  De  stranger  did  den  fall  on  his 
knees,  and  tank  God  for  bringing  him  to  mine  house,  where 
dere  was  one  dat  did  know  de  way  to  heaven ;  he  did  den 
pray  for  me  and  mine  children  dat  we  might  be  like  mine 
wife,  and  all  go  to  heaven  togeder.  Mine  wife  did  den  pray 
in  Dutch,  and  some  of  mine  children  did  fall  on  deir  knees, 
and  I  did  fall  on  mine ;  and,  when  she  did  pray  no  more,  de 
preacher  did  pray  again,  and  mine  oldest  daughter  did  cry 
so  loud.  From  dat  time  I  did  seek  de  Lord,  and  did  fear 
He  would  not  hear  me,  for  I  had  made  de  heart  of  mine  wife 
sorry  when  I  did  tell  her  she  was  mad.  But,  de  preacher 
did  show  me  so  many  promises  dat  I  did  tell  mine  wife,  if 
sne  would  forgive  me,  and  fast,  and  pray  wid  me  all  day  and 
all  night,  I  did  hope  de  Lord  would  forgive  me.  Dis  did 
please  mine  wife,  but,  she  did  say.  We  must  do  all  in  de  name 
of  de  Lord  Jesus.  About  de  middle  of  de  night  I  did  tell 
mine  wife  I  should  not  live  till  morning,  mine  distress  was 
too  great.  But,  she  did  say.  Mine  husband,  God  will  not  let 
you  die  ;  and,  just  as  de  day  did  break,  mine  heart  did  break, 
and  de  tears  did  run  so  fast,  and  I  did  say.  Mine  wife,  I  does 
now  believe  mine  God  will  bless  me,  and  she  did  say.  Amen, 
amen,  come  Lord  Jesus.  Just  den,  mine  oldest  daughter, 
who  had  been  praying  all  night,  did  come  in  and  did  fall  on 
my  neck,  and  said,  0  mine  fader,  Jesus  has  blessed  me.  And 
den  joy  did  come  into  mine  heart,  and  we  have  gone  on 
rejoicing  in  de  Lord  ever  since.  Great  fear  did  fall  on  mine 
neighbors,  and  mine  barn  would  not  hold  all  de  peoples  dat 
does  come  to  learn  de  way  to  heaven.  His  tears  kept  the 
people  in  tears  while  he  was  speaking. 

"  After  him,  another  got  up  and  said.  For  months  previous 
to  the  coming  of  Mr.  Mair  into  their  place,  he  was  one  of 


302  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [17S0. 

the  most  wretched  of  men.  He  had  heard  of  the  Methodists, 
and  the  wonderful  works  done  among  them,  and  joined  in 
ascribing  it  all  to  the  devil.  At  length  fear  fell  on  him  ; 
he  thought  he  should  die  and  be  lost.  He  lost  all  relish  for 
food,  and  sleep  departed  from  him.  Hs  friends  thought  him 
mad  ;  but  his  own  conclusion  was  that  he  was  a  reprobate, 
having  been  brought  up  a  Oalvinist ;  and  he  was  tempted  to 
shoot  himself,  that  he  might  know  the  worst.  He  at  length 
resolved  that  he  would  hear  the  Methodists ;  and,  when  he 
came,  the  barn  was  full ;  there  was,  however,  room  at  the 
door,  wdiere  he  could  see  the  preacher,  and  hear  well.  He 
was  soon  convinced  he  was  no  reprobate,  and  felt  a  heart 
to  beg  of  God  to  forgive  him  for  harboring  a  thought,  that 
He  the  kind  Parent  of  all,  had  reprobated  any  of  His  children. 
Listening,  he  at  length  understood  the  cause  of  his  wretched- 
ness ;  it  was  guilt,  from  which  Jesus  came  to  save  us.  The 
people  all  around  him  being  in  tears,  and  hearing  one  in  the 
barn  cry  Glory  to  Jesus,  hardly  knowing  what  he  did,  he 
drew  his  hat  from  under  his  arm,  and  swinging  it  over  his 
head,  began  to  huzza  with  might  and  main.  The  preacher 
saw  him,  and  knew  he  was  not  in  sport,  for  the  tears  were 
flowing  down  his  face,  and,  smiling,  said.  Young  man,  thou 
art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God ;  but,  rather  say  Halle- 
lujah, the  Lord  omnipotent  reigneth.  Several  others  spoke, 
when,  a  general  cry  arose ;  and,  the  doors  were  thrown  open, 
that  all  might  come  in  and  see  the  way  that  God  sometimes 
works." 

Of  those  who  were  subjects  of  this  work,  Mr.  Ware  gives 
us  only  Mr.  Egbert's  name.  Mr.  Jacob  Egbert  became  a 
preacher.  In  1793,  he  joined  the  Philadelphia  Conference, 
and  located  in  1800.  He  lived  about  fifty  years  among  the 
Methodists,  and  was  far  advanced  in  years  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  Through  Mr.  Mair's  labors,  Methodism  was 
introduced  into  Germantown,  in  Mercer  county,  and  several 
other  places,  at  this  time. 


1780.]  IN   AMERICA.  303 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

In  the  Minutes  of  1780  we  find  the  names  of  George 
Moore,  Stephen  Black,  Samuel  Watson,  James  Martin, 
Moses  Park,  William  Partridge,  James  0.  Cromwell,  John 
James,  Thomas  Foster,  Caleb  Boyer,  and  George  Mair,  as 
new  laborers  in  the  itinerant  field. 

Of  Mr.  John  James's  labors  and  success  in  New  Jersey, 
this  year,  we  have  already  given  an  account.  Useful  as  he 
was,  he  continued  in  the  work  but  two  years. 

Mr.  Samuel  Watson  was  located  in  1783. 

Mr.  James  Martin  located  in  1785. 

Mr.  Moses  Park  continued  in  the  work  until  1790. 

Mr.  George  Moore  was  one  of  Mr.  Garrettson's  converts, 
of  1778,  in  Broad  Creek.  His  house  was  one  of  the  preach- 
ing places  of  that  region.  We  make  him  the  fourth  preacher, 
from  the  state  of  Delaware,  who  appears  in  the  Minutes  as 
an  itinerant.  His  labors  were  confined  to  the  Peninsula, 
where  he  was  useful  in  planting  and  building  up  Methodism. 
The  last  circuit  he  was  on  was  Milford,  in  1792,  having 
Solomon  Sharp,  who  entered  the  work  this  year,  for  his 
colleague. 

Mr.  Stephen  Black  was  of  the  Peninsula,  not  far  from  the 
Choptank.  His  house  was  a  preaching  place,  where  a  society 
was  raised  up  about  this  time.   He  died  in  the  work  in  1781. 

Mr.  William  Partridge  was  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Ya., 
boi'n  in  1754  ;  and  born  again  in  1775.  After  nine  years 
he  located,  in  which  relation  he  remained  for  twenty-five 
years.  In  1814  he  re-entered  the  itinerancy;  and,  in  1817, 
died  in  the  Sparta  charge  in  Georgia.  He  was  one  of  the 
brightest  examples  of  piety  in  the  church:  professing  and 
living  sanctification.  He  thought  he  saw,  in  his  day,  a 
departure  from  primitive  simplicity  among  the  Methodists, 
which  was  cause  of  grief  to  his  soul.  He  was  fully  prepared 
for  his  final  summons  to  meet  his  Lord. 

Mr.  James  Oliver  Cromwell,  we  suppose,  was  a  brother  to 
Joseph  Cromwell,  of  Baltimore  county,  Md.  He  accompa- 
nied the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  to  Nova  Scotia,  in  1785, 
where  he  labored  about  two  years,  and  then  returned  to  the 
States;  and  in  1793  located.  He  was  alive  in  1806,  living  on 
Baltimore  Circuit,  a  "humble  sweet-spirited  old  minister." 

Mr.  George  Mair,  according  to  the  Minutes,  was  stationed 


304  RISE   OP    METHODISM  [1780. 

on  Philadelphia  Circuit,  in  1780.  We  are  not  informed 
■where  he  labored  in  1781  and  in  1782.  Most  likely  he  was 
following  his  secular  business,  for  the  support  of  his  family, 
the  most  part  of  these  two  years.  In  1783  he  was  on  Kent, 
in  Maryland.  In  1784  he  received  his  last  appointment  to 
Caroline  Circuit.  During  this  year  he  was  engaged  in  erect- 
ing the  house  that  is  called  "Green's  Chapel,"  below  Cam- 
den, in  Delaware.  Near  by  this  chapel  is  a  one-story  brick 
house,  fifteen  by  twenty  feet,  which  was  built  this  year  by 
Mr.  Mair,  to  be  a  home  for  himself  and  his  wife.  One  room 
served  for  kitchen,  parlor,  and  bed-chamber.  He,  like  most 
of  the  early  itinerants,  had  reduced  the  moral  philosophy 
of  the  hermit  to  every-day  experience  and  practice — 

"  Then  be  content,  thy  cares  forgo, 
All  earth-born  cares  are  wrong: 
Man  needs  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  needs  that  little  long." 

In  the  early  part  of  1785  the  Lord  took  his  soul  "  to  the 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  He 
was  interred  at  Green's  Chapel.  (This  is  an  antiquated, 
dilapidated  house,  and  should  be  rebuilt  and  called  Mair's 
Chapel.)  Had  there  been  any  one  able  to  point  out  his 
grave,  a  few  years  ago,  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Rev.  John 
Bell  to  set  up  "the  stone  of  remembrance,  and  bid  it  speak 
to  other  years."  The  Rev.  Thomas  Ware  says  he  was  the 
second  preacher  that  fell  on  the  walls  of  Methodist  Zion, 
after  the  church  was  organized.  The  Minute  of  his  death 
says,  "  He  was  a  man  of  affliction — he  had  a  strange  affliction 
in  his  heel  that  he  called  a  thorn  in  the  flesh.  Some  times, 
w^hen  riding  along  the  road,  he  had  to  get  down  and  hold  it 
in  cold  water  to  ease  it  (this  was  a  part  of  his  affliction),  but 
of  great  patience  and  resignation ;  and  of  excellent  under- 
standing." His  great  tact  in  introducing  himself  to  the 
people  as  a  missionary,  as  shown  by  Mr.  Ware,  saying  to 
Mr.  Egbert,  as  he  rode  up  to  his  door,  "  Pray,  sir,  can  you 
tell  me  the  way  to  heaven?"  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
addressed  the  old  German :  "  Peace  be  on  this  habitation, 
&c.,"  shows  that  he  well  understood  how  to  approach  the 
unconverted.  For  solemn  Christian  solidity  he  had  no 
superior  among  Methodist  preachers. 

Mr.  Caleb  Boyer  was  born  and  brought  up  in  Kent  county, 
Del.,  below  Dover.  He  was  brought  to  the  Lord  under  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Garrettson,  in  1778.  About  twenty  months 
after,  he  began  to  itinerate.     Although  he  was  not  at  the 


1780.]  IN   AxMERICA.  305 

Christinas  Conference,  in  1784,  he  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  deacon.  He  was  a  great  extemporizer,  and  considered  as 
one  of  the  greatest  preachers  that  the  Methodists  then  had. 
To  his  scintillating  genius  was  added  humility  and  true 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  After  he  had  a  family, 
finding  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  (the 
married  preacher's  allowance  at  that  time)  was  inade- 
quate to  keep  his  family,  he  located  in  1788,  and  settled  in 
or  near  Dover,  where  the  Church  enjoyed  his  talents  as  a 
local  preacher  for  the  space  of  twenty-five  years.  It  was 
the  opinion  of  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and  Vasey,  who  came  to 
America  with  Dr.  Coke,  that  they  had  not  heard  a  Methodist 
preacher  in  England  (Messrs.  Wesley  and  Fletcher  excepted) 
that  was  equal  in  ability  to  Mr.  Boyer.  Early  in  this  cen- 
tury he  died,  and  was  interred  at  Wesley  Chapel,  in  Dover, 
according  to  our  information. 

Mr.  Thomas  Foster  may  have  been  a  brother  of  James 
Foster,  and  a  native  of  Virginia.  In  1785  he  was  made  an 
elder,  and  placed  in  charge  of  a  district.  The  last  circuit 
he  travelled  was  Dover,  in  1791.  In  1792  he  located.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  lived  in  Dorchester  county,  Md.,  near 
the  Washington  Chapel,  and  not  far  from  Crabing,  or  (as 
it  is  called)  Cabin  Creek.  Here  he  cultivated  his  little 
farm  ;  and  travelled  about,  and  attended  camp  and  other 
meetings — preaching  at  funerals  and  performing  other  minis- 
terial duties.  No  minister  was  more  esteemed  on  account 
of  sound  talent  and  a  holy  life  than  the  Rev.  Thomas  Foster. 
Mr.  Asbury  said  he  was  "of  the  old  stamp,  and  steady:" 
and  when  he  was  making  the  circuit  of  the  Peninsula  he 
was  pleased  to  turn  into  the  pleasant  little  cottage  of  Brother 
Foster,  to  tarry  for  a  night.  Those  who  were  acquainted 
with  him  saw  a  fair  specimen  of  the  first  race  of  Methodist 
preachers.  The  first  time  that  we  were  in  class-meeting  was 
in  1814,  in  the  Washington  Chapel,  on  which  occasion  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Foster  preached  and  met  class.  The  last  time 
we  heard  him  preach  was  about  the  year  1819,  from  Eccl. 
iii.  16  :  "  And  moreover  I  saw  under  the  sun  the  place  of 
judgment,  that  wickedness  was  there;  and  the  place  of 
righteousness,  that  iniquity  was  there."  The  wickedness 
of  courts,  royal,  civil,  and  ecclesiastical ;  and  the  iniquity 
practised  at  places  of  worship;  was  the  theme  of  his  discourse. 
A  few  years  after  this  he  exchanged  the  sorrows  of  earth  for 
the  joys  of  paradise.  Near  where  he  lived  his  body  was 
interred,  to  rest  in  hope  of  having  part  in  the  first  resurrec- 
tion. 

26* 


806  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1780. 

All  the  preachers  received  on  trial  this  year  continued  to 
honor  God  and  Methodism  during  life.  Some  of  them  soon 
ended  their  itinerant  career ;  others  had  a  longer  race. 
Stephen  Black  and  George  Mair  soon  died  in  the  Lord.  The 
latter  was  no  ordinary  Christian  preacher.  William  Part- 
ridge, James  0.  Cromwell,  and  Thomas  Foster  continued 
many  years  as  lights  and  ornaments  of  Methodist  Chris- 
tianity. Their  memory  is  blessed.  Caleb  Boyer  was  regarded 
as  a  great  preacher  in  his  day,  and  his  life  was  untarnished 
to  the  end. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


In  1780,  according  to  the  Minutes,  Daniel  RufF,  Freeborn 
Garrettson,  and  Joshua  Dudley  were  appointed  to  labor  on 
Baltimore  Circuit.  Among  others  who  were  brought  in  thia 
year  was  the  Tschudy  family.  Martin  Tschudy's  became  a 
"  preaching  place  on  Baltimore  Circuit.  Here  the  Methodists 
raised  a  large  class.  Father  T.  was  a  man  of  few  words, 
but  as  honest  and  steady  as  the  day  was  long.  Mother  T. 
was  one  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth ;  deeply  experienced  in 
the  things  of  God,  and  a  mother  to  the  preachers.  Their 
daughter  Barbara  was  much  devoted  to  God.  She  was  the 
preachers'  nurse  when  they  were  sick  at  Father  Tschudy's. 
This  family  was  a  pattern  of  order,  neatness,  piety,  and 
hospitality.  Here  the  preachers  had  one  of  their  best 
homes."  Their  daughter  Barbara  was  the  first  of  their  family 
that  went  to  her  reward.  Next,  Father  Tschudy,  after 
suffering  much  with  great  patience,  went  home  in  1828, 
according  to  our  notes,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.  "  The 
dear  old  mother  suffered  and  labored  until  a  few  years  past." 
Many  of  the  early  itinerants  were  nursed  and  comforted  in 
this  godly  family,  and  one  at  least  went  from  their  house  to 
paradise. 

"Joseph  Perregoy  was  leader  of  the  class  at  Tschudy's 
for  many  years.  He  lived  upwards  of  eighty  years,  had 
been  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  more  than  fifty  years, 
and  was  a  man  of  unblemished  character  and  deep  piety. 
The  few  last  years  of  his  life  his  mind  was  entirely  gone  on 
every  subject  but  religion.  He  went  to  the  house  of  God  as 
long  as  he  was  able ;  and  though  a  child  in  everything  else, 
in  class-meetings  and  love-feasts,  and  when  called  upon  to 


1780-1.]  IN    AMERICA.  307 

pray,  be  was  still  like  himself.  We  buried  hira  a  few  weeks 
ago.  lie  was  beloved  by  the  pious,  respected  in  life  by  all 
who  knew  him,  and  honored  in  death." — "Recollections  of 
an  Old  Itinerant,"  pp.  186-188. 

On  the  24th  day  of  January,  1781,  the  Rev.  Freeborn 
Garrettson  set  off  to  visit  Little  York,  in  Pennsylvania,  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  Methodism  into  this  region. 
Stopping  at  a  tavern  for  the  night,  he  lectured  on  a  portion 
of  Scripture ;  and  had  prayer  in  the  tavern.  During  these 
exercises,  Mr.  Daniel  Worley,  who  lived  near  Little  York, 
being  present,  was  deeply  awakened. 

The  next  day  he  went  into  the  town,  where  he  was  per- 
mitted to  preach  in  the  Dutch  church.  Under  the  sermon, 
Mrs.  Worley  being  present,  had  her  heart  reached.  On  the 
same  evening,  Mr.  Worley  returned  home  and  said  to  his 
wife,  "  My  dear,  last  night  I  saw  and  heard  such  a  man  as  I 
never  saw  or  heard  before ;  and  if  what  he  says  be  true,  we 
are  all  in  the  way  to  hell."  She  replied,  "  I  suspect  I  heard 
the  same  man  this  afternoon  in  Mr.  Wagoner's  church ;  and 
believe  what  he  preaches  to  be  true — that  we  are  in  the  way 
to  ruin."  As  they  were  both  awakened,  they  agreed  to 
unite  in  seeking  the  salvation  of  God. 

Mr.  Garrettson  was  permitted  to  preach  in  the  Lutheran 
church  also.  The  hearts  of  the  mother  and  sister  of  the 
Lutheran  minister  were  touched  under  his  discourse,  and 
accompanied  him  to  Berlin,  where  he  preached  twice  to  large 
congregations.  By  this  time  a  messenger  had  come,  desiring 
him  to  return  to  Little  York,  which  he  did  with  all  speed. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worley,  having  been  trained  in  outward 
ceremonies,  being  in  great  distress  of  soul ;  and  but  imper- 
fectly instructed  in  the  plan  of  salvation,  through  faith  in 
Christ,  not  knowing  what  to  do  to  obtain  comfort,  went  to 
work  in  the  use  of  material  things  : — they  washed  themselves 
with  water, — put  on  their  best  clean  garments ;  and  con- 
cluded that  this  was  the  "  washing  of  regeneration  and 
renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Coming  out  from  their 
toilet,  they  kissed  their  son  and  daughter,  who  were  nearly 
grown  up,  telling  them  that  they  were  newly  born.  Having 
learned  from  Mr.  Garrettson  that  in  the  new  birth  old  things 
are  done  away  and  all  things  become  new,  they  proceeded 
to  practise  literally  on  it ;  throwing  their  old  clothing,  bed- 
ding, and  furniture  on  the  fire.  Having  some  of  the  two 
hundred  millions  of  continental  paper  money  that  Congress 
had  issued,  worth  at  that  time  one  fourth,  or  one  fifth  of  its 
facial  value,  Mr.  Worley  said,  "  This  is  an  old  thing,  and 


308  RISE   OP   METHODISM  [1781. 

must  be  done  away ;"  and  on  the  fire  it  went.  It  is  scarcely 
presumption  to  say  that  if  Mr.  Worley  had  possessed  the 
power,  there  would  soon  have  been  a  new  heaven  and  a  new 
earth  in  which  righteousness  alone  would  have  dwelt.  Their 
loss  was  estimated  at  some  fifteen  pounds,  and  would  have 
been  greater  if  the  neighbors  had  not  stopped  them  in 
making  these  burnt  offerings.  All  the  blame  of  this  affair 
was  thrown  on  Mr.  Garrettson.  The  cry  was,  "  Such  a  man 
ought  not  to  be  suffered  to  go  through  the  country, — he 
should  be  put  in  jail."  A  minister  was  sent  for  ;  and,  as  he 
did  not  understand  their  condition  he  recommended  a  doctor 
to  be  called  in,  who,  understanding  their  case  no  better, 
applied  blisters.  There  was  present  a  Quaker  woman,  who 
showed  more  judgment  than  any  of  them,  by  recommending 
them  to  send  for  Mr.  Garrettson,  who  had  been  instrumental 
in  bringing  them  into  mental  distress.  Soon  he  was  back 
at  Little  York ;  and  the  neighbors  seeing  him  go  into 
Mr.  Worley's  house,  gathered  in  also.  Mr.  Worley  was  in 
bed  under  medical  treatment,  and  Mrs.  Worley  looked 
wildly.  Mr.  Garrettson  asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He 
replied,  "To  be  new  born."  Mr.  Garrettson  proceeded  to 
read  and  lectured  on  a  portion  of  Scripture,  and  under 
prayer  the  Lord  not  only  opened  up  the  way  to  heaven  more 
clearly  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worley,  but  also  to  several  others 
who  were  present, — it  was  a  precious  season.  Mr.  Garrett- 
son had  the  blister  removed ;  and  soon  the  man  and  his  wife 
were  well  in  soul  and  body.  Though  this  event  was  very 
distressing  to  many,  and  not  less  so  to  the  mind  of  Mr. 
Garrettson ;  yet  in  the  end  it  resulted  in  bringing  glory  to 
God,  by  astonishing  and  bringing  many  to  serious  reflection. 
The  doors  of  the  churches  were  shut  against  him,  but  a  large 
school-room  was  offered  to  him  in  which  he  preached, — the 
hearts  of  many  were  touched ;  and,  the  two  mad  people,  as 
they  were  called,  were  rejoicing  in  the  Lord,  while  the  word 
reached  the  hearts  of  some  of  his  enemies. 

On  another  occasion  he  was  requested  to  visit  a  man  in 
Little  York  who  thought  that  he  was  troubled  with  an  evil 
spirit:  he  said  that,  "for  a  long  time  the  devil  had  followed 
him,  and  that  he  had  frequently  seen  him  with  his  bodily 
eyes."  It  seems  that  the  man  was  under  conviction  for  sin, 
and  was  ignorant  of  what  ailed  him.  Mr.  Garrettson  called 
his  minister  out  of  bed  one  morning,  and  they  both  visited 
him,  and  offered  up  prayer  for  him.  After  this  he  was 
troubled  no  more  in  the  same  way ;  and  became  one  of 
Mr.  Garrettson's  quiet  hearers. 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  309 

At  this  time  there  were  a  number  of  soldiers  billeted  in 
this  town  ;  and  the  officers  declared  that  they  Avould  take 
Mr.  Garrcttson  to  jail  if  he  attempted  to  preach  again.  The 
next  time  that  he  preached  there,  thej  were  present,  on  his  right 
hand.  One  of  them  stood  on  a  bench,  with  uplifted  staff,  to 
strike  or  frighten  him.  There  was  no  harm  done  to  him ; 
and  the  same  officers  became  quiet  hearers,  and  invited  him 
to  preach  to  the  soldiers. 

A  society  was  formed  in  the  vicinity  of  Little  York  at  this 
time,  which  has  continued  ever  since.  The  families  of  Daniel 
Worley  and  Wierly  Pentz,  were  the  chief  families  in  this 
loving,  zealous  society.  At  Mr.  Worley's,  their  first  quarterly 
meetings  were  held ;  and  in  his  house  there  was  preaching, 
frequently,  until  they  erected  their  first  little  chapel  in  the 
outskirts  of  this  town. 

Mr.  Garrettson  also  preached  at  Colchester,  where  he  saw 
some  fruit  of  his  labor.  On  his  way  from  Colchester  to 
Berlin,  he  missed  his  way.  Calling  at  a  house  to  inquire  for 
the  right  road,  he  heard  a  person  groaning  and  lamenting. 
On  going  into  the  house,  he  found  the  mistress  wringing 
her  hands,  and  mourning  bitterly.  She  informed  him  that 
she  had  sold  her  three  little  children  to  the  devil,  who  was 
coming  to  take  themx  away  at  a  certain  time.  To  prevent 
this  she  had  carried  a  razor  in  her  bosom  for  three  weeks, 
with  a  purpose  to  cut  the  throats  of  her  children,  before  the 
day  that  she  supposed  the  devil  would  come  for  them,  and 
then  cut  her  own  throat.  Mr.  Garrettson  told  her,  that  he 
could  prove  to  her,  by  the  Bible,  that  her  children  belonged 
to  God,  and  that  it  was  out  of  her  power  to  sell  them  to  the 
devil.  He  requested  her  husband  to  take  her  to  the  preach- 
ing that  afternoon.  Unwilling  to  leave  her  "  dear  little 
chiklren  in  the  arms  of  the  devil,"  she  was  at  length  pre- 
vailed upon  to  go. 

The  sermon  was  suited  to  her  state  of  mind  ;  and  the  Lord 
was  pleased  to  make  it  a  blessing  to  her.  After  the  preach- 
ing, she  came  to  Mr.  Garrettson  in  rapturous  joy,  blessing 
God  that  she  ever  saw  his  face.  She  became  a  pious, 
happy  woman.  How  great  was  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  in 
causing  Mr.  Garrettson  to  lose  his  way  to  save  this  distressed 
woman ! 

Notwithstanding  the  opposition  that  he  met  with,  he  con- 
tinued to  travel  through  this  region,  and  preach  with  great 
success,  for  more  than  two  months,  preaching  in  more  than 
twenty  different  places.  In  this  country  he  found  sixteen 
different  denominations  of  professing  Christians,  and  some 


310  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1781. 

of  all  seemed  zealous  in  their  own  way.  Many,  both  among 
the  German  and  English  population,  were  inquiring  the  way 
to  heaven ;  one  would  say,  "  Sir,  can  you  tell  me  what  I 
shall  do  to  be  saved  ?  for  I  am  the  wickedest  man  in  the 
whole  country."  Others  said,  "  This  is  the  right  religion." 
So  great  was  the  inquiry  on  the  subject  of  religion,  that  it 
seemed  that  sects  and  parties  would  fall,  and  the  name  of 
Christ  be  all  in  all.  More  than  three  hundred  were  under 
powerful  awakenings,  by  the  spirit  of  God ;  a  number  were 
already  rejoicing  in  the  love  of  Christ ;  and  about  one  hun- 
dred had  joined  the  societies  which  he  had  formed.  Such 
was  the  result  of  his  two  months'  labor.  In  the  Minutes  of 
1781,  Little  York  appears  as  the  second  circuit  at  that  time 
in  Pennsylvania.  From  the  Conference  that  met  in  Balti- 
more in  April,  1781,  the  Rev.  Philip  Cox  was  sent  to  this 
new  and  promising  field  of  labor.  During  this  year  the  field 
was  so  much  enlarged,  that  two  preachers,  N.  Reed  and  J. 
Major,  were  sent  to  it  in  1782.  In  after  years,  the  preachers 
had  homes  and  preaching  places  at  James  Worley's,  Lay's, 
Drinnon's,  Nailor's,  Wall's,  Weaver's,  and  Holspeter's,  or 
Hollowpeter's,  on  Conewago. 

In  1781  Mr.  Pedicord  was  stationed  in  charge  of  West 
Jersey.  On  his  reaching  Mr.  Abbott's,  who  had  just  moved 
into  Lower  Penn's  Neck,  Mr.  Abbott  related  to  him  his  dis- 
couragement, on  account  of  the  hard-heartedness  of  his 
neighbors.  Whereupon,  Mr.  Pedicord  retired  to  his  private 
room,  and  fasted  and  prayed  until  the  Lord  assured  him  that 
the  people  of  that  region  would  receive  the  gospel ;  and  he 
cheerfully  said,  "  Father  Abbott,  these  people  will  yet 
hunger  for  the  Word  ;"  and  in  less  than  a  year  there  was  a 
great  work  going  on  in  this  Neck.  This  prophet  of  the  Lord 
had  such  access  to  Him,  as  made  him  confident  that  the 
Lord  would  work.     See  Abbott's  Life,  p.  80. 

It  seems  that  it  was  on  his  first  visit  to  Mount  Holly,  in 
the  spring  of  this  year,  that  the  young  soldier  Thomas  Ware 
became  so  interested  in  him,  which  led  him  to  the  Saviour 
and  to  the  Methodists.  As  Mr.  Ware,  in  his  Autobiography, 
has  not  said  what  year  he  was  converted  in,  and  as  there 
are  several  difficulties  in  fixing  it  in  1780,  as  in  his  Memoir 
in  the  Minutes,  we  assume  that  it  was  in  1781.  As  Mr. 
Pedicord  was  entering  Mount  Holly,  with  his  heart  uplifted 
to  heaven,  singing,  "Still,  out  of  the  deepest  abyss,"  God 
was  pleased  to  own  it  by  drawing  one  to  himself,  who,  in  his 
day,  turned  many  to  the  Saviour.  Eternity  alone  will  dis- 
close the  amount  of  good  that  has  been  done  by  His  servants. 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  311 

Sometimes,  the  Methodists  have  accomplished  as  much  by 
their  singing  as  by  their  preaching  and  praying.  The  power 
of  music  has  been  acknowledged  from  time  immemorial. 
Fable  teaches,  that  Amphion,  by  the  power  of  music,  charmed 
both  animate  and  inanimate  creatures;  that  he  built  the 
city  of  Thebes  by  the  music  of  his  lyre — the  stones  dancing 
to  it,  and  taking  their  place  in  the  walls.  The  poet  of 
Methodism  has  left  us  a  fine  parody  on  this  fable,  in  these 
words : — 

"Thine  own  musician,  Lord,  inspire, 
And  may  my  consecrated  l3^re 

Repeat  the  psalmist's  part. 
His  Son  and  Thine,  reveal  in  me, 
And  fill  with  sacred  melody. 
The  fibres  of  my  heart. 

So  shall  I  charm  the  listening  throng, 
And  draw  the  living  stones  along, 

By  Jesus'  tuneful  name. 
The  living  stones  shall  dance,  shall  rise, 
And  form  a  city  in  the  skies — 
The  new  Jerusalem." 

Can  we  conjecture  what  tune  Pericord  was  singing  that 
so  enraptured  young  Ware  ?  We  know,  from  testimony, 
that  the  hymn,  "  Still,  out  of  the  deepest  abyss,"  was  a  great 
favorite  with  Mr.  Asbury;  we  know,  by  the  same  means, 
that  Light  Street  was  his  favorite  tune  to  sing  to  it ;  and  it 
is  probable  that  he  brought  the  tune,  if  not  the  hymn,  with 
him  from  England.  In  1781,  when  Father  Ellsworth  led 
him  into  the  caves  of  New  Virginia,  in  one  of  the  chambers, 
that  seemed  to  be  supported  by  basaltic  pillars,  beneath  the 
stalactites,  he  sung,  "Still,  out  of  the  deepest  abyss,"  and 
the  sound  was  wonderful,  in  that  temple  of  nature.  This 
was  in  June  of  this  year ;  and  if  we  are  right  in  our  date  of 
Mr.  Ware's  conversion,  there  is  coincidence  as  to  time, 
in  Mr.  Asbury's  and  Mr.  Pedicord's  use  of  the  same  hymn 
and  tune  (as  we  suppose).  It  was  in  the  same  year  ;  it  may 
have  been  at  the  same  time  that  this  music  echoed  in  the 
cave,  and  in  the  soul  of  Ware. 

Mr.  Asbury  was  a  remarkably  good  singer,  and  has  been 
heard  to  say,  "  That  he  had  raised  up  many  a  son  in  the 
gospel  that  could  outpreach  him,  but  never  one  that  could 
outsing  him;"  and  he  might  have  added,  never  one  that 
could  outpray  him. 

Methodist  hymns,  and  Methodist  tunes,  like  Methodist 
doctrine,  have  been  common  property  with  Methodists ;  they 
have  learned  to  sing  of  each  other,  and  it  is  not  unlikely 


812  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1781. 

that  Mr.  Pedicord  had  learned  to  sing  Light  Street  to  the 
above-named  hymn  from  Mr.  Asburj.  At  that  day,  when 
the  stock  of  Methodist  hymns  and  tunes  was  much  less  than 
it  is  at  this  time,  this  hymn  was  very  popular. 

In  the  early  part  of  1781,  Mr.  Asbury  attended  a  quar- 
terly meeting  at  the  Valley  preaching  house,  in  Chester 
county.  On  his  way  to  this  meeting  he  called  on  His  Excel- 
lency, Governor  Rodney,  to  sign  his  certificate,  which  he 
did  with  great  readiness  and  politeness.  At  the  quarterly 
meeting  he  found  the  Methodists  very  lively  in  religion ; 
they  were  greatly  led  to  speak  out  in  love-feast,  six  or  seven 
standing  up  as  witnesses  of  a  present  salvation  from  all  sin. 
We  impute  this  to  Mr.  Abbott's  recent  labors  in  this  circuit. 
He  next  went  into  Jersey ;  where,  probably,  he  attended  a 
quarterly  meeting,  and  had  his  first  interview  with  Mr. 
Abbott.  Mr.  Asbury  had  been  absent  from  Jersey  almost 
five  years.  From  Jersey,  lie  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  and 
preached  at  Mrs.  Grace's,  at  Coventry,  where  one  of  his 
hearers  desired  him  to  form  an  independent  church,  and 
settle  among  them.  This  was  far  from  Mr.  Asbury's  views. 
From  Coventry,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Old  Forest.  While 
in  this  region,  he  heard  of  the  great  work  going  on  among 
the  Germans,  about  Soudersburg — Mr.  Beam's  and  some 
other  places,  which  had  been  greatly  promoted  by  Mr. 
Abbott's  labors  among  them.  We  have  already  observed, 
that  this  work  commenced  as  early  as  1779,  if  not  sooner, 
through  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Beam,  a  Mennonist  preacher. 
From  Pennsylvania,  he  returned  to  Delaware ;  and  preached 
the  funeral  of  J.  B.,  near  Dover,  a  man  of  distinction,  who 
had  been  a  great  enemy  to  the  Methodists :  persecuting  his 
wife  and  children  for  hearing  them  ;  but,  when  near  death, 
sent  for  them  to  pray  for  him,  and  promised,  if  raised  up, 
to  hear  them  preach. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 


Soon  after,  Mr.  Asbury  met  about  twenty  preachers  at  Mr. 
Thomas  White's,  with  whom  he  held  Conference,  preparatory 
to  the  Conference  which  sat  in  Baltimore  soon  after,  where 
the  Conference  business  for  this  year  was  finished.  The 
Conference  year,  which  was  now  ending,  may  be  set  down  as 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  313 

one  of  prosperity.  The  increase  of  Methodists  in  New 
Jersey  was  316  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  171 ;  on  the  Peninsula, 
nearly  1600;  and  on  the  Western  Shore  of  Maryland,  275. 
In  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  there  was  a  decrease  of  200. 
The  increase  throughout  the  work  was  more  than  2000  ;  and 
this  was  chiefly  on  the  Peninsula.  The  whole  number  was 
10,539 — of  this  number  there  were  873  above  the  southern 
line  of  Pennsylvania,  and  9666  below  it. 

At  the  Conference  of  1781,  Jersey  was  again  divided  into 
East  and  West  Jersey  charges.  In  Pennsylvania,  Little 
York  was  taken  in.  In  Maryland,  three  circuits — Somerset, 
Talbot,  and  Calvert ;  and  Isle  of  Wight,  in  Virginia.  There 
were  25  circuits,  on  which  54  preachers  were  stationed. 
Five  preachers — John  Dickens,  Isham  Tatum,  Greenberry 
Green,  William  Moore,  and  Daniel  Ruflf — desisted  from 
travelling.  Mr.  Dickens  was  broken  down,  but  he  started 
again  in  1783,  and  continued  until  his  death.  Mr.  Ruff  had 
been  a  very  useful  preacher,  and  his  locating  was  a  loss  to 
the  general  interests  of  the  Methodist  connection. 

From  the  Conference  of  1781,  Mr.  Asbury  went,  for  the 
first  time,  into  New  Virginia.  At  this  time  the  preachers 
were  forming  a  circuit  on  the  South  Branch  of  the  Potomac. 
In  this  land  of  valleys,  streams,  mountains,  caverns,  and 
hanging  rocks,  he  was  filled  with  wonder  while  he  reflected, 
"  Thyself  how  wonderous  then."  In  this  region  he  spent 
June  and  July,  and  was  fully  initiated  into  the  realities  of 
frontier  or  backwoods  life.  Going  to  quarterly  meeting, 
night  overtook  him  and  Brother  Partridge.  They  secured 
their  horses  and  lay  down,  surrounded  by  imagined  dangers, 
and  slept  among  the  rocks.  While  travelling  in  that,  then 
the  roughest  of  circuits,  sleeping  on  chests,  floors,  and  on 
the  ground,  v.'ithout  beds  underneath,  or  any  covering  but  his 
garments,  and  food  and  fare  equally  rough,  he  enjoyed  good 
health,  and,  with  the  woods  for  his  closet,  was  continually 
happy.  His  faith  in  that  Christianity  which  he  and  his 
brethren  were  proclaiming,  enabled  him  to  predicate  what 
has  since  been  realized — "  That  there  would  be  a  glorious 
gospel  day  in  that  and  in  every  part  of  our  country."  As 
a  specimen  of  zeal  in  going  to  meeting  he  gives  the  following 
account  of  "  A  poor  woman,  on  a  little  horse,  without  saddle, 
out-went  us  up  and  down  the  hills,  and  when  she  came  to  the 
place,  the  Lord  met  with  and  blessed  her  soul." 

Some   of  the  first  appointments  in  this  part  of  Virginia 
were  at  Kite's,  Bruce's,  Stroud's,  Guest's,  Jones's,  Dew's, 
Perrill's,  George's,  Rectertown,  Martinsburg,  Shepherdstown, 
27 


314  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

Sharpsburg,  Newtown,  Oldtown,  Bath,  Cressap's,  Col.  Bar- 
ratt's,  Moses  Ellsworth's,  Benjamin  Boydstone's,  Strayder's, 
Vanmeter's,  Hoflfman's,  Col.  Harland's,  and  Richard  Wil- 
liams's. Moses  Ellsworth  was  regarded  as  the  patriarch  of 
his  neighborhood.  It  was  at  this  time  that  he  led  Mr. 
Asbury  into  the  caves  of  New  Virginia.  Benjamin  Boyd- 
stone  and  his  intelligent  heavenly-minded  wife  were  the 
excellent  of  the  earth.  Mr.  Asbury  says,  "  I  once  more  had 
the  happiness  of  seeing  that  tender  woman.  Sister  Boydstone, 
who  careth  for  the  preachers  as  for  her  own  soul ;  oft  has 
she  refreshed  their  spirits ;  her  gestures,  looks,  and  words, 
are  all  heavenly."  Brother  Boydstone  suffered  much  perse- 
cution for  conscience'  sake,  during  the  Revolutionary  war — 
but  he  outlived  all  his  enemies,  and  became  a  local  preacher. 
They  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  Mr.  Aquila  Brown,  long 
known  as  a  lawyer  in  Philadelphia,  and  as  a  leading  member 
of  the  Union  Church,  was  from  the  region  of  Cressap's, 
near  Cumberland,  and,  as  we  opine,  was  related  to  Mr. 
Cressap.  Another  of  this  family,  Sister  M'Coy,  lives  in 
Cecil  county.  Col.  Barratt  lived  at  the  eastern  base  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountain.  Thus  far  had  Methodism  toiled  its 
way  from  the  Atlantic  up  to  1781  ;  and  shortly  afterwards 
some  of  the  preachers  crossed  it  to  seek  the  lost  sheep  in  the 
wilderness.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr.  Asbury  became 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  Richard  Williams's  sufferings 
among  the  Indians. 

Mr.  Richard  Williams,  on  the  North  Branch  of  the  Poto- 
mac, was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  a  few  days  before 
Braddock's  defeat :  nineteen  of  them  surrounded  the  house, 
killed  his  father,  mother,  and  brother's  son,  carrying  Wil- 
liams and  his  child  to  Fort  Pitt,  now  Pittsburgh,  tying  him  to 
a  tree  every  night  to  secure  him.  He  fed  his  child  on  wild 
berries  on  the  way  to  Fort  Pitt,  where  it  was  taken  from  him; 
nor  does  it  appear  that  he  ever  knew  any  more  of  it.  On 
the  day  of  Braddock's  defeat  he  was  taken  across  the  Ohio 
river  and  guarded  to  Detroit,  where  he  found  the  garrison 
reduced  to  the  extremity  of  eating  horse-flesh.  After  stay- 
ing some  time  at  Detroit,  he  made  his  escape,  taking  with 
him  a  Frenchman's  gun  and  ammunition,  and  pushed  for 
home,  first  in  curve  lines,  and  then  in  a  more  direct  course. 
The  Indians  pursued  and  headed  him,  which  obliged  him  to 
alter  his  course.  Wading  through  deep  streams  the  water 
went  over  his  head  and  wet  his  powder,  which  made  it  use- 
less. For  three  days  he  travelled  without  stopping  to  eat. 
By  this  time  hunger  obliged  him  to  seek  food.     His  first  shift 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  315 

was  to  dig  sarsaparilla  for  sustenance.  He  went  on,  and  by 
good  Providence  found  a  fish,  which  a  bird  had  dropped,  and 
eat  it.  Coming  to  a  large  river,  he  saw  two  canoes,  loaded 
with  Indians,  pass.  From  these  he  hid  himself.  The 
Indians  being  out  of  sight,  he  made  a  raft  of  two  logs,  and 
gained  the  opposite  shore.  After  this,  he  travelled  three 
days  without  eating  or  drinking.  In  this  suffering  state  he 
saw  an  Indian,  and  escaped  him.  Coming  to  a  stream,  he 
drank,  and  then  finding  a  plum  tree,  he  ate,  and  took  some 
of  the  fruit  along  with  him.  The  following  day  he  found 
part  of  a  fawn,  which  he  roasted  ;  picking  the  bones  and  the 
marrow  for  his  first  meal,  he  carefully  preserved  the  flesh  for 
future  need.  After  this  venison  was  all  eaten,  for  three  suc- 
cessive days  he  found  a  squirrel.  Afterwards  he  caught  and 
eat  a  pole-cat.  At  another  time  he  saw  a  hawk  fly  up — on 
going  to  the  spot  he  found  a  wild  turkey.  Travelling  on  he 
came  to  the  Ohio,  and  waded  through  it.  Near  this  place  an 
Indian  threw  his  tomahawk  at  him.  He  tried  to  escape  by 
climbing  up  a  tree,  but  found  himself  too  weak,  and  fell  into 
the  hands  of  two  Frenchmen  and  five  Indians,  and  was  again 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemies.  With  these  he  feigned  derange- 
ment. They  took  him  to  Fort  Pitt.  On  the  way,  he  tired, 
and  they  threatened  to  kill  him.  He  told  them  he  was  will- 
ing to  die.  At  the  Fort  an  Indian  charged  him  with  being 
a  prisoner  from  Detroit.  He  was  put  under  guard,  and  a 
council  held,  to  determine  what  to  do  with  him.  The  sen- 
tence was  that  he  should  be  shot.  Some  of  them  objected 
to  his  being  killed  in  the  Fort,  saying  that  "  his  spirit  would 
haunt  them  there,"  and  advised  that  he  should  be  taken  to 
the  island  and  buried  in  the  sand.  He  was  told  that  he 
should  eat  no  more  meat  there,  but  that  the  crickets  should 
eat  him.  He  let  on  that  he  knew  nothing  that  they  said, 
though  he  understood  the  general  purport  of  it.  He  related, 
that  one  morning  before  day,  he  fell  into  a  trance,  and 
beheld  spirits  for  his  conductors,  and,  also,  saw  lightning. 
The  guard  being  asleep,  he  climbed  up  the  high  wall,  and 
clambered  over  the  spike  palisades,  and  made  his  escape. 
Just  as  the  cock  crew  for  day  he  was  discovered  by  the  sen- 
tinel, who  mistook  him  for  a  comrade,  and  let  him  pass.  At 
this  time  he  felt  a  conviction,  which  was  communicated  to 
liim  in  an  unusual  manner,  that  his  wife  prayed  for  him ;  and, 
during  his  absence,  his  wife  was  comforted  with  an  assurance 
that  she  should  see  her  husband  again.  Escaping  thus,  he 
made  the  best  of  his  way  without  interruption,  until  the 
evening,  when  he  heard  a  gun  fire  at  some  distance  behind 


316  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

liiui — presently  another.  His  pursuers  had  found  his  track 
in  the  woods,  and  were  after  him.  He  strove  to  run,  but  was 
too  weak.  Another  gun  still  nearer — he  made  what  speed 
he  could,  and  when  he  came  to  places  where  he  made  no 
track  he  made  zigzag  courses  to  deceive  them  and  give  him 
time  to  get  ahead.  But,  as  they  were  many,  they  would  find 
his  track  again.  Thus  he  toiled  on  until  seven  guns  were 
fired — the  last  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  of  him. 
His  heart  began  to  fail ;  he  thought  he  was  gone,  but  resolved 
to  labor  onward  as  long  as  he  had  life ;  and  now  his  pur- 
suers had  crossed  his  track  and  were  ahead  of  him.  Taking 
advantage  of  this  circumstance,  he  turned  out  of  the  path, 
letting  the  Indians,  who  were  behind,  tread  in  the  footsteps 
of  those  before.  In  the  direction  that  he  was  now  going  he 
came  to  a  path  that  led  to  a  settlement  of  the  whites.  Not 
keeping  this  long,  he  went  round  the  head  of  a  ravine  and 
laid  himself  down,  concluding,  that  if  his  track  was  again 
discovered,  he  would  be  favored  by  the  darkness.  The 
Indians  got  his  track  twice,  but  did  not  overtake  him.  He 
■went  on  in  the  dark  as  well  as  he  could,  sometimes  feeling 
the  bushes  with  his  hands,  and  often  falling  down  among  the 
rocks  from  weakness.  Having  found  smoother  ground,  he 
lay  down  until  next  morning.  His  enemies  were  still  pur- 
suing him.  He  had  not  left  his  hard  bed  long  before  he 
heard  two  guns  fired  off.  Coming  to  a  hill  where  no  marks 
of  footsteps  could  be  traced,  he  steered  his  course  for  Bed- 
ford, and  came  on  a  trading  path,  which  he  kept.  Five  days 
he  lived  on  acorns ;  afterwards  he  found  some  wild  cherries ; 
but  lo  !  while  he  was  eating  them,  up  came  an  Indian,  who 
asked  him  where  he  was  going ;  he  said,  "  To  the  Delaware." 
The  Indian,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  gave  a  whoop,  and  other 
Indians  were  around  him.  By  these  he  was  kept  a  prisoner 
for  some  time.  He  was  bold  and  active,  and  cooked  for 
them.  By  his  cleverness,  he  gained  the  favor  of  the  captain, 
who  praised  him  for  doing  everything  like  an  Indian.  Here 
he  had  more  than  he  needed  to  eat.  The  captain  was  care- 
ful to  secure  him  every  night,  by  making  him  lie  in  a  corner, 
where  he  drew  a  cord  over  hoop-poles,  and  tied  deer's  hoofs 
to  the  end,  that  if  Williams  pulled  open  the  poles  they  would 
rattle  the  deer's  hoofs,  and  strike  the  captain's  face,  and 
wake  him.  After  Williams  had  been  with  these  Indians  some 
length  of  time,  they  went  to  war,  leaving  him  behind  to  pro- 
vide deer  for  the  squaws.  He  at  last  found  an  opportunity  of 
escaping,  which  he  improved,  and  once  more  arrived  safe  at 
his  own  home,  and  embraced  his  wife." 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  317 

The  above  is  part  of  the  experience  of  one  of  the  old 
Methodists,  on  old  Berkley  Circuit.  Surely  this  man  had 
seen  enough  of  the  Providence  of  God  to  enable  him  to  put 
his  trust  in  Christ,  after  he  was  enlightened  by  the  gospel. 
At  his  house  the  Methodists  preached,  and  had  a  society, — 
he  was  a  faithful  man,  and  his  wife  was  a  pious  woman. 

From  the  foot  of  the  Allegheny,  Mr.  Asbury  turned  his 
face  towards  the  east,  holding  quarterly  meeting  at  Leesburg, 
and  at  Charles  Penn's,  near  Seneca,  this  side  of  the  Potomac. 
Coming  to  Micah  Dorsey's,  at  Elkridge,  he  was  seized  with 
his  old  affliction,  the  inflammatory  sore  throat.  Here  he 
had  the  attendance  of  that  eminent  physician.  Dr.  Pew. 
After  he  was  somewhat  restored,  he  moved  on  preaching  at 
Jones's  on  the  Manor,  then  paid  his  first  visit  to  Little  York, 
where  Mr.  Garrettson  had  planted  Methodism  the  previous 
spring :  here  he  met  Mr.  Ranckle,  once  a  Methodist,  but 
now  a  German  Presbyterian  minister;  also  Mr.  Waggoner 
of  the  same  church.  Having  preached  at  E.  Jones's  in 
Uwchlan,  Chester  county,  at  Benson's  Chapel,  at  the  Valley 
or  the  Grove,  and  in  Philadelphia,  he  was,  for  the  first  time, 
at  Cloud's  Chapel,  at  quarterly  meeting,  where  he  had  his 
first  personal  acquaintance  with  James  Barton,  then  a  public 
speaker  among  the  Friends,  who  bore  his  testimony  in  love- 
feast,  "that  God  was  with  the  Methodists."  About  this 
time  he  became  a  Methodist,  and  a  preacher  among  them. 
When  Dr.  Coke  saw  him  three  years  after  this,  he  called 
him  "a  precious  man."  We  next  find  Mr.  Asbury  holding 
the  great  fall  quarterly  meeting,  at  Barratt's  Chapel,  where 
twelve  preachers,  and  about  a  thousand  people,  were  assem- 
bled together. 

During  the  year  1781,  Blackiston's  Chapel  in  Kent 
county,  Del.,  was  erected.  The  plan  of  the  house,  which 
was  40  by  60  feet,  was  furnished  by  Mr.  Asbury.  It  was 
for  a  number  of  years  the  largest  Methodist  Chapel  on  the 
Peninsula,  exceeding  in  size  Barratt's  Chapel.  Some  large 
and  powerful  meetings  were  held  at  it :  it  was  a  popular 
place.  After  other  chapels  sprung  up  around  it,  it  was 
found  to  be  larger  than  was  necessary,  and  its  size  was 
reduced.  A  few  years  since  a  new  house  was  built.  The 
original  trustees  were, — Benjamin  Blackiston,  Abraham 
Parsons,  Luke  Howard,  Richard  Lockwood,  William  Kirk- 
ley,  James  Hall,  Thomas  Wilds,  James  Stephenson,  and 
Richard  Shaw. 

27* 


318  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Mr.  David  Abbott  had  been  received  as  a  travelling 
preacher,  and  was  stationed  on  Kent  Circuit,  Md.  In  the 
summer  of  1781,  his  father  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott  took 
his  place  for  a  short  time,  and  had  the  remarkable  meetings 
recorded  in  his  Life,  p.  113-120.  At  the  head  of  Elk,  now 
Elkton,  he  preached  his  first  sermon  at  S.  T.'s.  This  is  the 
earliest  notice  we  have  of  the  Methodists  having  an  appoint- 
ment in  this  town,  as  yet  they  had  no  society  in  the  place. 
In  after  years  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson  had  a  niece, 
perhaps  the  daughter  of  his  brother  John,  a  Mrs.  Taylor, 
living  in  this  place.  See  his  Life,  p.  212.  From  here  he 
went  to  Mr.  Simmons's,  near  the  head  of  Sassafras  river, 
where  he  had  a  powerful  time :  some  were  awakened,  and 
inquired  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  Here  he  found  a 
small  class :  in  meeting  it,  he  had  a  precious  time.  He  says, 
"Next  day  at  my  appointment,  God  attended  the  word  with 
power :  many  wept,  both  white  and  black.  In  meeting  the 
class  many  fell  to  the  floor,  among  whom  was  the  man  of 
the  house ;  several  professed  sanctification,  and  some  justifi- 
cation." It  seems  that  this  was  at  Solomon  Ilersey's  on 
Bohemia  Manor.  "Next  day  being  Sabbath,  I  preached 
there  again.  In  the  morning  I  met  the  black  class  in  the 
barn ;  many  fell  to  the  floor  like  dead  men,  while  others 
cried  aloud  for  mercy.  I  had  to  leave  them  to  attend  my 
appointment.  When  I  came  to  the  place,  it  was  computed 
there  were  more  than  a  thousand  people,  and  a  clergyman 
among  them.  I  preached  in  the  woods,  and  the  Lord 
preached  from  heaven  in  His  Spirit's  power,  and  the  people 
fell  on  the  right  and  on  the  left.  I  saw  that  many  were  in 
a  flutter  and  ready  to  flee.  I  told  them  to  stand  still,  for 
God  Almighty  was  come  into  the  camp.  They  kept  their 
stations,  while  I  continued  to  invite  them  to  fly  to  Jesus.  It 
was  a  great  day  to  many  souls." 

Having  received  an  introduction  to  the  clergyman,  and  an 
invitation  to  call  on  him  for  conversation,  he  hastened  to  his 
afternoon  appointment,  "leaving  the  slain  and  wounded  on 
the  field.  When  I  came  to  the  place,  I  found  a  large  con- 
gregation, and  preached  with  great  liberty.  Many,  both 
white  and  black,  fell  to  the  earth  as  dead  men,  while  others 
were   screaming  and   crying   to   God   for  mercy."      These 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  319 

meetings,  it  appears,  bad  been  held  on  Bohemia  Manor  and 
in  Sassafras  Neck. 

After  preaching,  a  gentleman,  whom  he  afterwards  calls 
Mr.  K.  (could  this  have  been  Kankey  ? — Zebulon  Kankey, 
from  this  region,  became  a  travelling  preacher  nine  years 
after  this),  invited  him  to  his  house,  and  said  to  him  :  "  If 
what  he  had  heard  and  seen  that  day  was  religion,  he  must 
confess  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  although  he  professed 
to  be  a  good  Churchman.  He  told  me  that  their  minister 
was  both  a  drunkard  and  a  liar,  and  advised  me  not  to  go 
near  him.  Next  morning  we  went  to  see  the  clergyman." 
(Whoever  he  was,  he  seems  to  have  been  the  incumbent  of 
St.  Stephen's,  in  Sassafras  Neck,  and  lived  at  Fredericktown, 
on  the  Sassafras  river.)  "  We  then  went  on,  and  crossed 
the  river  (Sassafras)  where  I  preached  to  a  small  congrega- 
tion. Here  the  gentleman  and  I  parted.  We  had  a  happy 
time  in  class.  Here  I  saw  what  I  never  met  before — twenty 
women  in  class,  and  but  one  man,  and  he  an  African."  This 
meeting  was  near  Georgetown,  or  Georgetown  Cross  Roads ; 
at  one  time  the  preaching  in  this  neighborhood  was  at 
Woodland's. 

His  next  appointment  was  at  Howard's.  This  was  in 
Still  Pond.  The  congregation  was  large ;  and  the  word 
reached  many  hearts.  ^'  I  met  class,  and  had  a  precious 
time.  One  woman  fell  to  the  floor,  and  after  a  struggle  lay 
still.  When  she  came  to,  she  related  that  she  had  dreamed 
the  night  before  that  she  saw  '  a  plain  old  man  who  gave  me 
a  clean  piece  of  paper  ;  and  I  believe  it  represented  a  clean 
heart ;  and  now  I  know  that  God  has  sanctified  me.' 

"Next  day,  at  Brother  H.'s,  I  had  a  crowded  house. 
The  Lord  attended  the  word  with  great  power.  The 
people  fell,  screamed,  and  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  Here  I 
was  as  happy  as  I  could  live  in  the  body.  Many  were 
awakened;  and  one  big  man,  who  was  a  sinner,  stood  amazed, 
wondering  at  what  his  eyes  beheld.  In  class  there  was  a 
powerful  time  :  some  lost  the  power  of  their  bodies  ;  and  we 
had  a  shout  in  the  Lord's  camp. 

"  Next  day  I  went  to  my  appointment.  The  rumor  of  the 
work  caused  many  to  attend.  Looking  round,  I  saw  the 
big  man  again,  he  being  of  an  uncommon  size.  In  my  appli- 
cation, the  Lord  opened  the  windows  of  heaven  and  rained 
down  righteousness.  The  power  of  God  came  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  it  prevented  the  meeting  of  the  class.  Many  shouted 
praises  to  God ;  others  cried  aloud  for  mercy ;  some  were 
all  bathed  in  tears ;  while  others  lay  on  the  floor  as  dead 


320  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

men.  The  people  shouted  with  a  loud  shout,  and  the  noise 
was  heard  afar  oif.  Thus  the  meeting  continued  for  three 
hours ;  and  the  big  man  was  on  his  knees  praying. 

"  Next  day  I  preached  to  a  small  congregation  of  hard- 
hearted, stiff-necked,  uncircumcised  sinners;  and  felt  but 
little  freedom  among  them.  I  met  the  little  class,  and  im- 
pressed holiness  on  them  ;  but  found  them  rather  dead  in 
religion."  Of  the  three  last  appointments,  one  was  in  Wer- 
ton,  and  the  other  two  may  have  been  in  Chestertown  and 
Quaker  Neck. 

"  At  my  next  appointment,  I  found  many  hundreds  col- 
lected on  the  occasion  of  a  funeral.  The  Church  minister 
went  through  the  ceremonies,  and  then  preached  a  short, 
easy,  smooth,  soft  sermon,  which  amounted  to  almost  nothing. 
By  this  time  a  gust  was  rising,  and  the  firmament  was 
covered  with  blackness ;  two  clouds  appeared  to  come  from 
different  quarters  and  meet  over  the  house,  which  caused  the 
people  to  crowd  into  the  house,  up  stairs  and  down,  to  screen 
themselves  from  the  storm.  When  the  minister  was  done, 
he  asked  me  if  I  would  say  something  to  the  people.  I  arose, 
and  with  some  diflSculty  got  on  one  of  the  benches,  the  house 
was  so  crowded ;  and,  almost  as  soon  as  I  began,  the  Lord 
of  heaven  began  also.  The  tremendous  claps  of  thunder 
exceeded  anything  I  had  ever  heard,  and  the  streams  of 
lightning  flashed  through  the  house ;  the  house  shook,  and 
the  windows  jarred  with  the  violence  thereof.  I  lost  no  time, 
but  set  before  them  the  coming  of  Christ  in  all  His  awful 
splendor,  with  all  the  armies  of  heaven,  to  judge  the  world, 
and  to  take  vengeance  on  the  ungodly.  It  may  be,  cried  I, 
that  He  will  descend  in  the  next  clap  of  thunder !  The 
lightning,  thunder,  and  rain  continued  for  about  one  hour, 
in  the  most  awful  manner  ever  known  in  that  country  ;  dur- 
ing which  time  I  continued  to  set  before  the  people  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  to  judge  the  world,  warning  and  inviting  sin- 
ners to  flee  to  Christ.  The  people  screamed,  screeched,  and 
fell  all  through  the  house,"  while  Mr.  Abbott  continued  to 
exclaim  :  "  My  Lord  !  while  you  thunder  without  to  the  ear, 
help  me  to  thunder  to  the  hearts  of  sinners."  ''One  old 
sinner  made  an  attempt  to  go,  but  soon  fell.  Some  of  the 
people  put  him  in  a  carriage,  and  took  him  where,  as  I  was 
informed,  he  neither  ate  nor  drank  for  three  days  and  nights. 
When  the  storm  was  over  the  meeting  ended;  many  were 
that  day  convinced,  and  many  were  converted."  In  1795, 
when  Mr.  Abbott  was  spending  his  last  labors  on  Kent  Cir- 
cuit, he  found  twelve  living  witnesses  who  told  him  that  they 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  321 

were  all  converted  at  that  storm ;  and  also  told  lilm  of  divers 
others,  who  had  gone  from  time  to  eternity  ;  and  of  several 
who  had  moved  out  of  the  neighborhood.  This  remarkable 
meeting  was  near  the  old  Kent  Meeting-house  (now  Hinson's 
Chapel)  ;  and  it  has  been  often  spoken  of,  by  the  people  of 
Kent  county,  as  Mr.  Abbott's  "thunder-gust  sermon."  Be- 
tween the  voice  of  the  Lord  from  heaven,  and  the  voice  of 
His  servant  in  the  house,  the  people  had  never  known  such 
a  time. 

After  filling  another  small  appointment,  Mr.  Abbott  went 
to  quarterly  meeting,  which  was  held  in  Mr.  Simmons's  barn, 
near  the  Head  of  Sassafras.  Here  he  met  his  brother  Sterling, 
from  Burlington,  N.  J.  Many  attended  this  meeting.  "  On 
Sabbath  I  preached,  and  the  Lord  attended  the  word  with 
power  ;  many  cried  aloud,  and  some  fell  to  the  floor.  Brother 
Ivy  gave  a  powerful  exhortation,  which  made  many  weep. 
A  number  were  converted,  and  some  professed  sanctification." 
Mr.  K.,  the  kind  Churchman,  took  Mr.  Abbott  and  Mr. 
Sterling  home  with  him.  While  they  were  conducting  family 
worship  in  the  evening,  the  power  of  God  came  down  in  a 
remarkable  manner  upon  the  colored  people,  who  were  in 
the  kitchen.  Brother  Sterling  spent  an  hour  among  them, 
exhorting  and  instructing  them.  Mr.  Abbott  had  spent  about 
two  weeks  on  Kent  Circuit ;  and  this  preaching  excursion, 
like  all  others  of  his,  was  attended  by  extraordinary  manifesta- 
tions: the  people  had  to  say,  "We  have  seen  strange  things 
to-day."     Such  a  preacher  they  had  never  listened  to  before. 

He,  in  company  with  Mr.  Sterling,  started  for  Jersey. 
Arriving  at  New  Castle,  where  they  stayed  all  night,  he 
preached  at  Brother  Furness's,  "to  a  hard  hearted,  disobedient 
people:"  such  were  the  people  of  New  Castle  in  1781 ;  and 
we  know  not  that  they  have  greatly  changed  since. 

From  the  Conference  of  1781,  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson 
was  sent  to  Sussex  Circuit  in  Virginia.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  public  calamity :  the  previous  year  the  treacherous 
Arnold  had  made  a  descent  on  Virginia,  laying  the  country 
waste ;  and  this  year,  Cornwallis  was  harassing  the  people 
of  Virginia  with  his  army.  This  state  of  things  was  unfriendly 
to  the  spread  of  Christianity.  There  was,  also,  some  dis- 
satisfaction with  some  of  the  local  preachers  and  private 
members,  because  the  ordinances  had  been  suspended.  In 
this  state  of  things  he  arrived  on  his  circuit,  and  commenced 
his  labors  at  Ellis's  Chapel.  He  says,  "As  I  entered  the 
door,  I  saw  a  man  in  the  pulpit  dressed  in  black,  engaged  in 
prayer.     I  soon  perceived  that  he  was  bereft  of  his  reason. 


322  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

I  went  into  the  pulpit  and  desired  him  to  desist.  After  he 
ended  prayer,  he  began  to  speak  ;  and  I  had  no  way  to  stop 
him  but  by  causing  the  people  to  withdraw.  After  a  few 
minutes  the  people  returned,  and  I  preached  to  them.  This 
strange  man's  testimony  was,  '  that  he  was  a  prophet  sent  of 
God  to  teach  the  people ;  and  that  it  was  revealed  to  him 
that  a  person  would  interrupt  him  in  his  discourse.'  The 
prophet  returned  home,  and  that  night  told  his  family,  at 
such  an  hour  he  would  go  into  a  trance ;  and  that  they  must 
not  bury  him  until  after  such  a  time,  should  he  not  survive. 
Accordingly,  to  all  appearance,  he  was  in  a  trance.  The 
next  day  I  was  sent  for  to  visit  him.  Many  were  weeping 
around  the  bed  in  which  he  lay  like  a  corpse ;  for  I  could 
not  perceive  that  he  breathed.  About  the  time  that  he  spoke 
of  reviving,  he  came  to  himself.  He  had  been  happy  in  God  ; 
and  a  sensible,  useful  man.  After  this,  he  seemed  more 
rational,  and  I  took  him  part  of  the  way  round  the  circuit  with 
me,  and  had  a  hope,  before  we  parted,  that  he  was  restored. 
Sometime  after  this  he  began  again  to  preach  Christ,  and  I 
trust  was  more  humble  than  ever."  There  was  something 
mysterious  in  the  case  of  this  man.  He,  like  many  others 
that  have  apparently  been  entranced,  had  little,  if  anything, 
to  reveal  on  coming  to  himself. 

Mr.  Garrettson  continued  in  this  circuit  about  three  months. 
As  this  was  the  time  of  the  siege  and  surrender  of  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktown,  he  could  hear  the  roar  of  cannon  day  and 
night.  Leaving  Sussex  Circuit,  he  went  to  form  a  new  one, 
probably  the  Yadkin  in  North  Carolina,  which  soon  after 
appeared  on  the  face  of  the  Minutes.  Wherever  it  was,  a 
great  work  commenced.  He  says,  "  I  am  now  in  my  element, 
forming  a  new  circuit,  and  have  pleasing  prospects.  I 
preached  in  one  place,  and  there  was  a  great  shaking  among 
the  people.  I  preached  again  the  next  day,  and  the  power 
of  the  Lord  came  down  in  a  wonderful  manner.  The  rich, 
as  well  as  the  poor,  were  brought  to  mourn  for  Christ. 
Several  fell  under  the  word.  A  major  was  so  powerfully 
wrought  upon,  that  it  seemed  he  would  have  fallen  from  his 
seat  had  not  the  colonel  held  him  up.  A  large  society  was 
united  in  this  place,  mostly  of  the  rich." 

During  this  year,  Mr.  Garrettson,  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Asbury,  acted  as  superintendent  in  the  South, — giving  the 
preachers  their  semi-annual  stations,  and  visiting  the  circuits 
for  the  purpose  of  holding  quarterly  meetings, — settling 
difficulties,  and  uniting  the  Methodists  together.  In  this, 
the  Lord   made   him    useful  to   a   very  great   extent.     His 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  323 

usefulness  had  been  greater,  but  for  the  state  of  things  in 
the  South,  which  he  felt  himself  called  to  preach  against. 
Many  of  the  Methodists  were  absolutely  opposed  to  bearing 
arms,  and  killing  men.  On  this  conscientious  principle  they 
suffered  much.  Beside  the  persecution  of  the  tongue,  some 
of  them  were  fined,  some  were  imprisoned,  and  some  were 
whipped.  Against  this  violent  course  of  conduct  on  the  part 
of  their  enemies,  Mr.  Garrettson  bore  his  testimony  publicly. 
As  the  sum  of  this  year's  labor,  he  travelled  about  five 
thousand  miles,  and  preached  some  five  hundred  sermons. 
This  was  itinerancy  in  earnest. 


CHAPTER  L. 

In  the  Minutes  for  1781,  we  find  the  names  of  nineteen 
preachers  as  new  recruits  for  the  itinerancy — they  are  Joseph 
Everett,  Ignatius  Pigman,  Jonathan  Forrest,  Philip  Bruce, 
Michael  Ellis,  James  Haw,  James  White,  Joseph  Wyatt, 
David  Abbott,  Jeremiah  Lambert,  Enoch  Matson,  Adam 
Cloud,  Samuel  Dudley,  Edward  Morris,  James  Mallory, 
Henry  Metcalf,  John  Coleman,  Charles  Scott,  and  Beverly 
Allen.  The  last-named  two  made  a  bad  end.  Two  or  three 
got  under  a  cloud ;  and  two  went  to  the  Episcopalians,  and 
one  to  the  Presbyterians.  The  others  held  on  steadfast  in 
Methodism  until  death. 

Mr.  James  Mallory  located  in  1785. 

Mr.  James  Coleman  came  from  Virginia  in  1780  to  teach 
school  in  Dover :  a  plan  had  been  made  between  Doctor 
M'Gaw  and  Mr.  Asbury  to  educate  the  youth ;  the  Dr. 
was  to  have  charge  of  the  school,  and  Mr.  Asbury  brought 
Mr.  Coleman  to  Dover,  where,  for  a  time,  he  was  engaged  in 
teaching  a  school  of  boys.  His  name  is  found  in  the  Minutes 
until  1785,  when  he  desisted,  and  became  a  minister  in  the 
old  church  in  Virginia.  He  wrote  a  life  of  Mr.  Jarratt, 
which,  so  far  as  it  speaks  of  the  Methodists,  did  no  credit  to 
the  writer,  nor  to  the  subject  of  the  narrative,  if  what  he 
wrote  was  true. 

Mr.  Adam  Cloud  was  about  the  seventh  itinerant  from 
Delaware,  raised  in  the  north  end  of  the  state.  His  first 
year  was  on  Roanoke  Circuit,  where  he  was  baptized  by  Mr. 
Jarratt.  His  conduct  did  not  give  general  satisfaction  to  the 


324  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

Methodists,  and  in  1787  he  left  them,  and  the  Conference 
disowned  him,  and  regarded  him  as  expelled.  After  this  he 
met  Mr.  Asbury,  and  dunned  him  for  arrears  of  quarterage 
until  he  gave  him  fourteen  pounds,  to  get  clear  of  him.  We 
have  been  informed  that  he  afterwards  joined  the  Episcopa- 
lians and  became  a  settled  minister  in  one  of  the  West  India 
Islands. 

Mr.  Enoch  Matson,  it  appears,  was  brother  to  Aaron  Mat- 
son  who  gave  name  to  Matson's  Meeting,  now  Mount  Hope, 
near  Village  Grreen,  in  Delaware  county.  Pa.  In  1785  he 
was  made  an  elder.  He  stood  high,  as  to  rank  and  gifts ; 
but  for  some  cause,  like  the  unfortunate  Chew,  he  was  dis- 
owned by  the  Conference  in  1788. 

Charles  Scott  was  in  the  work  about  two  years.  Mr. 
Asbury  gives  the  lights  of  his  character  thus  : — "  He  is  like 
a  flame  of  fire,  apparently  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  pro- 
fesses the  sanctifying  grace  of  God.  He  has  good  sense 
and  good  utterance — a  useful  man,  dealing  faithfully  with 
the  societies."  Now  follow  the  dark  shades — "He  became 
horribly  wicked  :  was  in  the  habit  of  speaking  maliciously 
of  his  former  friends — he  died  an  apostate  in  a  drunken 
revelry." 

Beverly  Allen,  of  the  South,  was  very  promising  in  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of 
elder  at  the  Christmas  Conference,  and  ordained  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  work  in  Georgia.  He 
began  to  deteriorate,  and  going  from  bad  to  worse,  he  was 
expelled  in  1792 ;  and  in  1794,  he  shot  Major  Forsyth,  the 
Marshall  of  the  Federal  Court  in  Georgia,  while  attempting 
to  serve  a  writ  upon  him.  Concerning  him,  Mr.  Asbury  says  : 
*'  He  has  been  speaking  against  me  to  preachers  and  peo- 
ple, and  writing  to  Mr.  Wesley  and  Dr.  Coke ;  and  being 
thereby  the  source  of  most  of  the  mischief  that  has  followed. 
He  is  now  in  jail  for  killing  the  major.  A  petition  is  pre- 
pared declaring  him  to  have  shown  marks  of  insanity  before 
he  did  this  act.  The  poor  Methodists  must  unjustly  be  put 
to  the  rack  on  his  account,  although  he  has  been  expelled 
two  years.  I  have  had  my  opinion  of  him  nine  years,  and 
gave  Dr.  Coke  my  thoughts  of  him  before  his  ordination.  I 
pity  and  pray  for  him,  that  if  his  life  is  given  to  justice,  his 
soul  may  yet  be  saved."  At  the  appointment  at  Allen's,  in 
North  Carolina,  Mr.  Asbury  remarked :  "  The  people  here 
are  famous  for  talking  about  religion,  and  here  and  there  is 
a  horse-thief  among  them." 

Beverly  Allen  made  his  escape  from  prison,  and  went  to 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  325 

Logan  county,  Kentucky,  then  an  asylum  for  outlaws. 
Here  he  professed  the  doctrine  of  Universalism.  He  taught 
a  school ;  and  young  Peter  Cartwright  was  one  of  his  pupils. 
His  last  end  was  in  darkness  and  despair :  he  said,  he  could 
make  the  mercy  of  God  cover  every  case  but  his  own. 
See  the  Autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Cartwright,  p. 
28. 

Mr.  Ignatius  Pigman  seems  to  have  been  a  native  of  what 
was  then  Frederick  county  in  Maryland,  raised  near  the  Poto- 
mac among  the  mountains.  He  began  to  travel  in  1780  ;  and 
was  about  the  most  pleasing  and  persuasive  preacher  that  the 
Methodists  then  had.  Mr.  Ware  couples  him  with  Caleb 
Boyer  as  a  great  extemporizer  ;  and  while  Boyer  was  the 
Paul,  Pigman  was  the  eloquent  Apollos  of  the  Methodist 
connection  at  that  day.  In  1788  he  located  to  provide  for 
his  family.  In  1800  Mr.  Asbury  met  him  at  his  brother's, 
Mr.  Joshua  Pigman,  and  remarked,  "  Art  thou  he  ?  Ah ! 
But  Oh  !  how  fallen  !  how  changed  from  what  I  knew  thee 
once  !  Lord,  what  is  man  if  left  to  himself!"  This  language 
seems  to  imply  a  moral  lapse  ;  but  what  caused  or  constituted 
it,  we  know  not.  We  are  impressed  that  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  and  practice  of  law  after  he  ceased 
itinerating,  and  settled  in  Fredericktown,  now  Frederick 
City.  About  the  year  1818,  the  Rev.  Jacob  Gruber  was  Pre- 
siding Elder  of  Carlisle  District,  which  embraced  Frederick 
Circuit  in  Maryland.  Here  he  preached  a  sermon  on  Sab- 
bath afternoon  at  a  camp-meeting,  in  Washington  county, 
Md.,  if  our  memory  serves,  that  greatly  displeased  the  gen- 
try, who  commenced  a  prosecution  against  him  on  the  pre- 
text that  his  discourse  incited  their  slaves  to  insurrection. 
Mr.  Pigman  acted  as  counsel  for  Mr.  Gruber,  and  this  is  the 
last  we  know  of  him.  The  defendant  was  acquitted.  The 
trial  was  published,  and  is  one  of  the  greatest  curiosities 
relating  to  the  jurisprudence  of  our  country. 

Mr.  James  Haw  volunteered  to  go  to  Kentucky  in  1786, 
as  an  elder :  he  had  been  previously  a  pioneer  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.  In  1791,  he  was  returned  as  located.  When 
James  O'Kelly's  views  were  spread  in  Kentucky,  he  became 
favorable  to  them ;  and  was  regarded  as  disaffected  towards 
the  views  of  the  great  body  of  the  Methodists.  The  chasm 
between  him  and  them  widened ;  and  he  finally  became  a 
pastor  over  a  Presbyterian  congregation  in  1801,  in  Cumber- 
land, Tennessee,  when  the  great  revival  of  religion  began  in 
that  region.      He  ended  his  days  among  the  Presbyterians. 

Mr.  Henry  Metcalf,  of  the  South,  was  a  good  man,  of 


326  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

a  sorrowful  spirit,  and  under  constant  heaviness.  When  he 
Tvas  near  his  end  he  got  out  of  his  bed,  kneeled  down,  and 
thus  died  in  prayer,  on  his  knees — this  was  in  1784. 

Mr.  Samuel  Dudley  was  a  useful  preacher,  that  located  in 
1788. 

Mr.  Edward  Morris,  of  Virginia,  continued  in  the  work, 
maintaining  a  consistent  character,  until  1790,  when  he  de- 
sisted. 

Mr.  James  White  labored  successfully  for  eight  years  :  his 
lively  preaching  was  made  a  blessing  to  many,  while  his  holy 
life  was  a  safe  example  for  others  to  imitate.  With  holy 
resignation  to  Heaven's  will,  he  died  peacefully  in  1789. 

Mr.  Jeremiah  Lambert  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey ;  and 
although  his  opportunities  for  improvement  had  been  small, 
yet  in  the  school  of  the  itinerancy  he  soon  became  eminent 
in  the  pulpit.  When  the  Methodist  Church  was  organized, 
he  was  ordained  an  elder  for  Antigua,  in  the  West  Indies. 
In  1786  he  died,  much  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Mr.  David  Abbott,  son  of  Benjamin  Abbott,  was  converted 
under  the  ministry  of  Philip  Gatch,  while  preaching  in  Jersey, 
in  the  latter  end  of  1773.  After  laboring  as  a  local  preacher 
for  a  few  years,  he  began  to  itinerate  in  1781.  In  1784  he 
stopped.  In  1793,  and  in  1794,  his  name  is  in  the  Minutes : 
this  last  year  he  was  in  New  England,  on  New  London  Cir- 
cuit ;  after  this  it  appears  he  was  altogether  local. 

In  1796,  Mr.  Abbott  was  living  at  Upper  Alloways  Creek, 
in  Salem  county,  N.  J. :  at  this  time  his  father  made  his 
triumphant  exit  from  this  world  of  affliction  to  glory,  at  his 
house.  In  the  following  year,  Bishop  Asbury  notices  him 
as  a  merchant  in  Crosswick's,  New  Jersey.  Through  his 
subsequent  life  he  was  faithful  as  a  Christian.  He  has  a 
son,  by  name  David  Abbott,  who  lives  at  Old  Chester,  Pa., 
who  has  long  walked  in  the  steps  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. 

Mr.  Joseph  Wyatt  was  a  native  of  Kent  county,  Del., 
raised  near  the  present  town  of  Smyrna.  He  embraced  re- 
ligion, and  joined  the  Methodists  when  they  first  came  into 
his  neighborhood  in  1778.  In  1779  he  began  to  speak  in 
public.  In  1780,  Mr.  Asbury  employed  him  as  a  preacher; 
and,  in  1781,  his  name  appears  in  the  Minutes.  For  a  few 
years  he  resided  in  Duck  Creek  Cross  Roads,  now  Smyrna, 
where  he  carried  on  the  shoemaking  business,  and  served 
also  as  an  itinerant.  Being  a  weakly  man  he  broke  down, 
and  located  in  1788;  but  entered  into  the  work  again  in 
1790,  and  continued  in  it  until  about  1797.    Mr.  Ware  says: 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  327 

"  In  talent  he  was  little  inferior  to  any  among  us  ;  and  in 
purity  perhaps  to  none.  His  sermons  were  short,  but  com- 
posed of  the  best  materials,  and  delivered  in  the  most  pleas- 
ing manner."  In  the  latter  end  of  his  life  he  was  chaplain 
to  the  legislature  of  Maryland,  and  resided  in  Annapolis  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  was  about  the  sixth  travelling 
preacher  from  the  state  of  Delaware. 

Michael  Ellis  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1758,  and  embraced 
religion  when  fifteen  years  old,  in  1773.  In  1781,  his  name 
first  appears  in  the  Minutes  as  a  travelling  preacher.  He 
was  made  a  deacon  at  the  Christmas  Conference,  and  ordained 
when  Mr.  Asbury  was  made  Bishop.  In  1788,  he  located  to 
take  care  of  a  family.  Subsequently,  he  removed  to  Bel- 
mont county,  Ohio.  Having  raised  up  an  interesting  family, 
he  re-entered  the  itinerancy  again  in  1810,  in  the  Western 
Conference.  While  laboring  in  Ohio,  in  1814,  among  many 
others  who  were  brought  to  the  Saviour  and  united  with  the 
Methodists,  was  a  stiff  Roman  Catholic  family  by  the  name 
of  Walker :  the  son,  since  known  as  the  Rev.  George  W. 
Walker,  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference,  was  also  converted. 
In  1819,  he  took  a  superannuated  relation  to  the  Ohio  Con- 
ference, in  which  relation  he  continued  until  death.  He  had 
removed  from  Belmont,  and  fixed  his  home  in  Rehoboth, 
Perry  county,  Ohio.  Here,  in  1830,  he  left  earth's  scenes 
for  the  long- hoped-for  realities  of  paradise.  In  personal 
appearance  he  was  fine  and  imposing ;  in  his  deportment, 
high  and  courteous.  He  was  in  his  seventy-third  year  when 
taken  from  the  Church  below  to  join  the  Church  above. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Forrest  was  a  native  of  Frederick  county, 
Md.  He  continued  in  the  work  as  an  itinerant  until  1793. 
After  this  he  was  a  supernumerary  up  to  1805.  He,  like  all 
the  preachers  of  that  time,  had  his  share  of  persecution  and 
suffering :  at  one  time  he  was  imprisoned.  In  1838  he  was 
living  in  Frederick  count}^,  at  which  time  he  was  about  eighty 
3^ears  old,  and  very  feeble.  From  all  that  we  can  learn  of 
him,  he  "  kept  the  faith,"  and  died  in  hope  of  the  "  crown 
of  righteousness." 

Mr.  Philip  Bruce  was  a  descendant  of  the  French  Protest- 
ants,— a  native  of  North  Carolina.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
revolutionary  war.  In  early  life  he  obtained  religion,  and 
with  a  pious  mother  joined  the  Methodists.  As  a  travelling 
preacher,  he  travelled  extensively  on  circuits  and  districts 
until  1817,  when  he  was  superannuated.  In  the  General 
Conference  of  1816,  there  was  a  strong  feeling  to  make  him 
Bishop  Asbury's  successor ;  and,  probably,  nothing  but  age 


328  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

prevented  it.  The  mantle  of  Mr.  Asbury  fell  on  the  Rev. 
Enoch  George.  Mr.  Bruce  continued  to  wait  in  glorious 
expectation  of  his  change  to  come  until  May,  1826,  -when  he 
departed  in  victory,  at  the  house  of  his  brother,  Mr.  Joel 
Bruce,  in  Tennessee.  At  his  death,  he  was  the  oldest  mem- 
ber of  a  Methodist  Annual  Conference  in  America,  except 
the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrettson.  So  says  the  Minute  of  his 
death.  To  show  respect  to  his  memory,  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference resolved  to  set  up  a  suitable  monument  over  his 
revered  remains. 


CHAPTER  LI. 


Mr.  Joseph  Everett  was  born  in  Queen  Anne's  county, 
state  of  Maryland,  June  17,  1732.  Among  Methodist 
preachers  there  has  been  not  only  a  great  variety  of  talent, 
but  also  of  manner  and  tact.  This  has  been  a  wise  arrange- 
ment, to  suit  the  no  less  various  tastes  of  their  hearers ; 
seeing,  that  every  preacher  can  please,  and  profit  some,  and 
no  one  can  meet  the  expectation  of  all.  Mr.  Everett  was, 
we  think,  the  roughest-spoken  preacher  that  ever  stood  in 
the  itinerant  ranks.  But  let  no  one  prejudge  him;  but 
follow  him  through  his  ministerial  life  of  thirty  years,  which 
closed  in  a  most  triumphant  death,  and  see  if  a  doubt 
remains  that  he  was  a  good  man.  As  he  wrote  an  account 
of  his  experience,  which  was  published  in  the  Arminian 
Magazine,  in  order  to  show  his  manner  of  expressing  himself, 
we  will  give  his  language  to  some  extent.  He  says  his 
parents  were  neither  rich  nor  poor,  but  labored,  and  taught 
him  to  labor.  "As  to  religion,  we  had  none,  but  called 
ourselves  of  the  Church  of  England.  We  went  to  church, 
and  heard  a  parcel  of  dead  morality,  delivered  by  a  blind, 
avaricious  minister,  sent  by  the  devil  to  deceive  the  people. 
Since  the  Lord  has  opened  my  eyes,  I  have  stood  amazed  to 
see  sinners  giving  extravagant  sums  (of  money)  to  blind 
guides,  to  go  before  them  to  hell.  My  nature  was  a  fit  soil 
for  the  devil's  seed  to  take  root,  and  grow  in.  I  learned  to 
swear,  to  tell  lies,  and  vent  my  angry  passions.  I  was  often 
uneasy,  afraid  to  die,  and  felt  a  weight  of  guilt  that  caused 
me  to  resolve  to  do  better.  I  never  heard  one  gospel  sermon 
until  I  was  grown  up. 


1781.]  IN    AMERICA.  329 

"  In  this  state  of  wickedness  I  lived  till  I  was  married. 
I  chose  a  companion  that  was  as  willing  to  go  to  the  devil  as 
I  was ;  it  would  have  puzzled  a  philosopher  to  determine 
which  of  us  loved  sin  most.  Thus  I  went  on  until  the  New 
Lights,  or  Whitefieldites,  came  about.  I  went  to  hear  them  ; 
and,  saw  myself  in  the  way  to  hell ;  and  was  taught  that  I 
must  be  born  again,  and  know  my  sins  forgiven.  I  began 
to  fall  out  with  my  sins, — to  read  the  Bible, — to  pray  in 
secret,  and  likewise  in  my  family, — thus  I  went  on  for 
nearly  two  years.  The  minister  that  I  heard,  taught  that 
Christ  died  for  a  certain  number,  and  not  one  of  them  would 
be  lost ;  and  all  the  rest  of  mankind  would  be  damned  and 
sent  to  hell, — that  the  elect  must  persevere  and  go  to  heaven. 
By  this  trap  the  devil  catches  millions  of  unwary  souls. 
The  Lord  knows  what  I  suffered  by  it.  I  was  no  stranger 
to  persecution,  as  I  reproved  sin.  By  this  time  I  was  joined 
in  communion  with  the  New  Light  Church,  and  was  thoucrht 
to  be  a  great  Christian ;  but,  as  yet,  a  stranger  to  the  know- 
ledge of  sins  forgiven.  In  1763,*  I  went  into  a  chamber  to 
seek  the  blessing.  I  was  on  my  knees  but  a  few  moments 
before  the  Lord  shed  His  love  abroad  in  my  heart,  and  I  felt 
I  had  redemption  in  His  blood,  even  the  forgiveness  of  sins. 
I  was  so  simple  that  I  thought  there  was  no  sin  in  my  soul. 
But  in  a  short  time  the  enemy  of  my  soul  began  to  work 
upon  the  unrenewed  part  of  my  nature,  and  I  felt  pride, 
self-will,  and  anger.  Our  minister  told  us,  though  we  might 
know  our  sins  forgiven,  it  was  impossible  to  live  without  sin. 
At  last  the  devil  found  out  a  scheme  that  answered  his 
purpose :  he  baited  his  hook,  and  I  swallowed  it.  I  still 
went  to  hear  preaching,  prayed  in  my  family,  but  my  con- 
science told  me  I  was  a  hypocrite.  My  principle  was,  '  that 
there  was  no  falling  from  justifying  grace ;'  and,  indeed,  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  fall,  for  I  had  shamefully  fallen 
already.  The  brethren  began  to  look  very  coldly  at  me, 
and  as  I  grew  worse  they  disowned  me,  saying  I  had  never 
been  converted ;  and  for  months  I  never  went  to  meeting. 
Thus  I  went  on  to  please  my  master  the  devil.  My  con- 
science giving  me  no  rest,  I  took  the  method  that  Cain  did 
to  stifle  his ;  he,  by  the  noise  of  axes  and  hammers  in  build- 
ing cities ;  I,  by  the  hurry  of  business,  and  the  clash  of 
wicked  company,  and  often  by  drinking.  I  continued  in 
this  state  until  the  commencement  of  the  war  between  Great 

*  In  this  year  the  walls  of  St.  George's,  in  Fourth  street,  Philadelphia, 
were  put  up, — they  are  still  standing, — the  oldest  brick  walls  in  which 
Methodists  worship  in  America. 
28* 


330  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1781. 

Britain  and  America ;  and  then  became  a  Tvarm  Whig,  and 
repaired  to  the  muster-field  to  learn  the  use  of  arms,  and 
turned  out  a  volunteer.  When  I  had  acted  mj  part  at  camp, 
I  returned  home.  By  this  time  there  was  a  people  called 
Methodists  that  had  come  into  the  place  where  I  lived, 
telling  the  people  that  '  everybody  might  be  saved.'  This 
doctrine  I  did  not  believe,  and  thinking  they  were  not  sent 
of  God,  I  determined  to  oppose  them.  I  continued  to  per- 
secute them,  but,  like  the  rest  of  the  devil's  children,  always 
behind  their  backs,  or  at  a  distance.  I  went  one  evening  to 
hear  one  exhort,  but  did  not  like  to  hear  the  people  make 
such  a  noise,  though  I  liked  a  noise  in  a  tavern.  About  the 
14th  of  March,  1778,  a  woman  persuaded  me  to  go  to 
Mr.  White's,  to  hear  preaching.  I  went,  and  heard  Mr. 
Asbury.  As  the  discourse  was  practical,  and  not  doctrinal, 
I  could  find  no  fault  with  it,  unless  because  it  was  delivered 
by  a  Methodist  preacher,  which  is  too  much  the  case  in  this 
polite  age,  among  the  rich  and  the  great, — the  honorable 
children  of  the  devil. 

"  My  prejudice  subsided,  and  a  way  was  opened  for  con- 
viction. The  human  soul  is  like  a  castle,  that  we  cannot  get 
into  it  without  a  key.  Let  the  key  be  lost,  and  the  door 
continues  shut.  I  once  had  the  key,  but  the  devil  had  got 
it  from  me.  I  began  to  feel  the  returns  of  God's  grace  to 
revisit  my  soul.  The  eyes  of  the  people  began  to  be  upon 
me.  My  old  companions  looked  very  coolly  at  me ;  and  the 
Methodists  had  their  eyes  on  me,  no  doubt  for  good  ;  espe- 
cially my  friend  Edward  White  frequently  asked  me  home 
with  him,  and  conversed  with  me  on  Methodism  ;  knowing  I 
was  Calvinistic,  he  furnished  me  with  the  writings  of  Mr. 
Wesley  and  Fletcher.  I  once  heard  him  say,  '  If  Christ 
died  for  all,  all  were  salvable ;  and  they  that  were  lost,  were 
lost  by  their  own  fault;'  which  gave  me  more  insight  into 
the  scheme  of  redemption  than  ever  I  got  before  by  all  the 
reading  and  preaching  I  had  practised.  I  was  more  and 
more  engaged  to  save  my  soul.  In  retiring  to  pray,  I  have 
felt  the  spirit  of  the  devil  in  my  very  flesh.  It  seemed  that 
I  could  hear  the  fiend  say,  '  What !  are  you  praying  again  ? 
you  had  better  quit, — after  awhile  you  will  tire,  and  leave 
oS"  as  you  did  before.'  I  went  forward  in  the  way  of  duty, 
and  on  the  5th  day  of  April,  1778,  the  Lord  set  my  soul 
once  more  at  liberty. 

"  I  read  Mr.  Wesley  on  Perfection,  but  the  mist  of  Calvin^ 
ism  was  not  wiped  from  my  mind  ;  they  had  taught  me  that 
temptations  were  sins.     I  could  not  distinguish  between  sins 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  831 

and  infirmities ;  and  hardly  believe  that  any  Antinomian  can. 
I  began  to  feel  the  necessity  of  joining  the  society,  -which  I 
did,  in  order  to  grow  in  grace.  I  began  to  speak  to  my 
acquaintance  about  their  souls,  and  sometimes  to  preach,  and 
found  that  some  were  wrought  upon.  In  family  prayer, 
sometimes,  the  power  of  the  Lord  would  descend  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  cause  the  people  to  mourn  and  cry.  Nor  would 
they  be  able  to  rise  from  the  floor  for  half  a  night.  My 
exercises  about  preaching  were  so  great  that  I  have  awoke 
from  sleep,  and  found  myself  preaching.  While  I  was  in 
the  way  to  hell,  I  lived  for  the  most  part  of  my  time  without 
labor ;  now,  I  earned  my  bread  by  the  labor  of  my  hands ; 
and  studied  divinity  at  the  plough,  axe,  or  hoe,  instead  of  the 
college.  At  last  I  disclosed  my  mind  (on  the  subject  of 
preaching)  to  my  friend  Edward  White.  At  this  time,  that 
man  of  God,  C.  B.  Pedicord,  was  riding  in  the  circuit.  He 
sent  for  me  to  meet  him  at  an  appointment  near  Mr.  White's, 
and  asked  me  to  give  an  exhortation,  and  then  gave  me  a 
certificate  to  exhort.  The  1st  of  October,  1780,  I  went  to 
Dorset  Circuit,  and  had  seals  to  my  ministry.  I  stayed  four 
weeks,  and  returned  to  secure  my  crop.  By  this  time  the 
devil,  by  his  emissaries,  had  put  it  into  the  heart  of  my  wife 
to  prevent  my  travelling.  She  made  a  great  noise,  which 
gave  me  much  trouble.  I  might  as  well  have  undertaken  to 
reason  with  a  stone.  Till  now  she  had  some  faint  desire  to 
save  her  soul ;  but  this  banished  all  from  her  heart.  I 
returned  to  Dorset,  and  stayed  till  February,  1781,  when  I 
was  sent  to  Somerset  Circuit  to  labor  in  Annamessex.  My 
labors  were  abundantly  blessed  ;  many  found  peace  with 
God,  and  some  large  societies  were  formed." 

In  November,  1781,  Mr.  Everett  was  sent  to  West  Jersey 
with  James  0' Cromwell.  Here  his  labors  were  blest,  and 
many  seals  were  set  to  his  ministry.  At  the  May  Confer- 
ence of  1782,  he  says,  "  I  was  appointed  to  East  Jersey, 
with  that  man  of  God,  John  Tunnell,  whom  I  loved  as 
another  self."  While  preaching  here  his  hard  blows  had 
stirred  the  ire  of  the  people  about  Gerraantown,  in  Jersey, 
and  the  mob  was  after  him  with  clubs,  as  was  supposed, 
under  the  connivance  of  their  superiors ;  but,  finding  that 
he  was  legally  qualified  to  preach,  he  received  no  hurt  from 
them.  The  success  of  the  Methodists  alarmed  the  priests, 
both  Dutch  and  English,  and  this  seemed  to  be  the  cause 
of  his  persecution.  "  In  November  of  this  year  I  was 
appointed  to  Philadelphia  Circuit  with  John  Tunnell,  and 
Nelson  Reed.     Here  our  labors  were  blessed.     That  part  of 


332  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

the  Circuit  that  profited  least  by  our  ministry  was  the  city 
of  Philadelphia.  The  reason  was,  one  said  I  am  of  Paul ; 
another,  I  am  of  ApoUos ;  and  another,  I  am  of  Cephas. 
Where  this  is  the  case  there  are  very  few  to  follow  Christ. 
They  are  like  weathercocks,  which  can  never  be  kept  at 
one  point."  At  this  time,  this  circuit  embraced  all  the 
appointments  between  the  Delaware  river  and  the  Susque- 
hanna. There  was,  till  lately,  one  individual  living  In 
Philadelphia  who  heard  him  (and  he  was  the  first  Methodist 
preacher  he  ever  heard),  at  this  time  at  Captain  Johnson's 
near  Barren  Hill,  in  Montgomery  county,  seventy-two  years 
ago.  Under  the  discourse  a  woman  cried  out  and  swooned 
away,  and  was  carried  into  the  kitchen,  where  little  Jacob* 
was  sitting,  greatly  terrified  by  the  preaching.  While  the 
woman  was  being  removed,  the  speaker  was  silent.  This 
being  done,  he  let  them  know  that  he  had  something  more 
to  say  to  them  that  night.  This  was  sad  Intelligence  to  the 
youthful  hearer,  to  learn  that  he  had  still  to  tremble  under 
the  ministerial  thunder  of  this  Boanerges. 

A  daughter  of  Mr.  Abraham  Supplee,  now  living  in 
Philadelphia,  in  her  eighty-third  year,  having  been  a  Meth- 
odist for  more  than  sixty  years,  whose  name  is Smith, 

remembers  to  have  heard  Mr.  Everett  commence  one  of  his 
discourses  in  1782,  by  saying  to  the  irreligious,  among  his 
hearers,  "It  is  just  six  weeks  since  I  was  here  last,  and 
some  of  you  are  six  weeks  nearer  hell  than  you  were  then." 

During  the  year  1781,  the  Methodists  lost  two  of  their 
preachers,  Messrs.  Robert  Strawbridge,  and  Philip  Adams. 
The  former  was  the  first  Instrument  in  raising  up  Methodism 
in  America.  The  latter,  a  native  of  Virginia,  was  a  useful 
preacher,  closely  attached  to  Methodism. 

The  winter  of  1781  and  1782  was  spent  by  Mr.  Asbury 
in  the  South ;  and  it  became  a  general  practice  with  him,  so 
to  arrange  his  work,  as  to  be  in  this  region  during  his  future 
winters.  The  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  in  October  of  this 
year,  removed  an  impediment  out  of  the  way  of  his  travel- 
ling ;  and,  it  was  now  generally  known,  that  he  was  no 
enemy  to  America.  He  attended  a  number  of  quarterly 
meetings,  and  had  to  exert  all  his  influence  to  restrain  some 
of  the  local  preachers,  who  were  not  satisfied  unless  they 
administered  the  ordinances. 

While  in  North  Carolina,  his  accommodations  were  some- 
thing better  than  he  found  in  New  Virginia  the  previous 

*  Jacob  Knows. 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  333 

summer, — these  were  on  the  floors  of  their  houses,  and  on 
the  ground.  Of  those  he  says,  "  I  have  to  lodge  half  my 
nights  in  lofts,  where  light  may  be  seen  through  a  hundred 
places ;  and,  it  may  be,  the  cold  wind  at  the  same  time  blow- 
ing through  as  many ;  but,  through  mercy  I  am  kept  from 
murmuring,  and  bear  it  with  thankfulness,  expecting  ere 
long  to  have  better  entertainment — a  heavenly  and  eternal 
rest."  His  experience  enabled  him  to  say,  "I  always  find 
the  Lord  present,  when  I  go  to  the  throne  of  grace.  I  am 
filled  with  love  from  day  to  day.  I  bless  the  Lord  for  the 
constant  communion  I  enjoy  with  Him.  0,  that  the  Lord 
may  keep  me  from  moment  to  moment.  The  work  of  God 
puts  life  in  me ;  and  my  greatest  trials  arise  from  '  taking 
thought.'  " 

About  this  time  Mr.  Asbury  heard  the  welcome  news, 
that  England  had  acknowledged  the  Independence  for  which 
America  had  been  contending.  We  have  been  informed  by 
authority  which  we  deem  reliable,  that  Mr.  Wesley  said  to 
King  George,  "  If  you  suffer  that  good  man  Doctor  Dodd 
to  be  executed,  you  will  lose  all  your  children  in  America." 
It  is  certain  that  King  George  did  suffer  that  good  man  Dr. 
Dodd  to  be  hung,  in  the  year  1777 ;  and,  it  is  equally 
certain,  that  King  George  lost  all  his  political  children,  in 
the  United  Provinces,  between  the  St.  Lawrence  river  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

While  Mr.  Asbury  and  his  fellow-laborers  were  toiling  to 
bring  souls  to  Christ,  and  train  them  for  everlasting  happi- 
ness, it  was  encouraging  to  receive  such  accounts  as  the 
following : — "  My  old  friend  J.  Mabry  told  me  that  his 
daughter  F.  Mabry,  who  for  some  years  had  lived  the  life 
of  faith,  was  taken  ill  last  August.  When  about  to  die  the 
Lord  cut  short  His  work  in  her  soul,  cleansing  her  heart  from 
all  sin.  She  testified  what  God  had  done  for  her  with  great 
power — all  present  were  surprised  with  her  language.  She 
seemed  to  be  kept  alive  one  whole  day  almost  miraculously 
— it  appeared  that  the  power  of  God  was  so  strong  upon 
her,  that  she  could  not  die." 

"  Brother  Samuel  Yeargan  gave  me  an  account  of  a  light, 
his  wife  saw  one  day,  while  at  prayer  in  a  thicket  near  the 
house ;  it  shone  all  around  her,  above  the  brightness  of  the 
sun.  At  first  she  resolved  to  tell  it  to  no  one ;  she,  how- 
ever, communicated  it  to  her  husband.  He  observed  to  her, 
Perhaps  you  will  die  soon,  are  you  willing?  She  replied. 
Yes ;  and  expressed  a  wish,  that  she  might  not  have  a  long 


334  RISE    OF    iMETHODISM  [1781-2, 

sickness,  if  the  Lord  was  about  to  take  her  to   Himself; — 
within  two  weeks  she  departed  this  life." 

'•  Captain  Wood,  of  the  American  army,  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  British  when  they  took  Charleston.  Obtain- 
ing a  parole  he  returned  home  to  Virginia,  where  he  was 
awakened,  and  in  such  distress  of  soul,  that  he  attempted  to 
destroy  himself.  He  would  suffer  no  one  to  come  near  him, 
but  that  good  man,  Robert  Martin,  of  Appomattox  river. 
At  length  the  Lord  set  his  soul  at  liberty,  and  he  became  a 
serious  happy  Christian,  much  devoted  to  God  and  His  cause. 


CHAPTER  LII. 


The  Conference  of  1782  began  at  Ellis's  Chapel,  in  Sussex 
chunty,  Va.,  attended  by  about  thirty  preachers.  It  appears 
that  this  was  the  first  Conference  that  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee 
ever  attended,  who  thus  describes  the  spirit  that  prevailed 
among  the  preachers  at  it : — 

"  The  union  and  brotherly  love  which  I  saw  among  the 
preachers,  exceeded  everything  I  had  ever  seen  before ;  and 
caused  me  to  wish  that  I  were  worthy  to  have  a  place  among 
them.  When  they  took  leave  of  each  other,  they  embraced 
each  other  in  their  arms,  and  wept  as  though  they  never  ex- 
pected to  meet  again.  Had  the  heathen  been  there,  they 
might  have  well  said,  '  See  how  these  Christians  love  one 
another.'  At  the  close  of  the  Conference,  Mr.  Asbury  came 
to  me  and  asked  me,  if  I  was  willing  to  take  a  circuit.  I 
told  him  that  I  could  not  well  do  it ;  that  I  was  afraid  of 
hurting  the  cause.  Mr.  Asbury  called  to  some  preachers 
that  were  standing  in  the  yard,  saying,  '  I  am  going  to  enlist 
Brother  Lee.'  One  of  them  asked,  'What  bounty  do  you 
give  ?'  He  answered,  *  Grace  here,  and  glory  hereafter  will 
be  given,  if  he  is  faithful.'  "  Mr.  Lee  commenced  his  itinera- 
ting career  of  great  interest  and  usefulness  in  the  following 
November,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Edward  Drumgole. 

This  Conference,  which  began  at  Ellis's  Chapel  in  April, 
adjourned  to  Baltimore — where  it  finished  the  Conference 
business  for  this  year,  in  the  latter  end  of  May. 

The  following  new  circuits  appear  in  the  Minutes  this 
year :  Yadkin,  in  North  Carolina ;  South  Branch,  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  Lancaster,  in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  Sussex,  in  Delaware. 


1782.]  IN    AMERICA.  335 

There  were  26  circuits,  supplied  by  59  preachers,  exclusive 
of  Mr.  Asbury. 

The  eflfect  of  the  war  had  caused  some  decrease  in  the 
number  of  Methodists  in  Nortli  Carolina  and  Virginia ;  but 
in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dehiware,  and  Maryland,  there 
w^as  a  fair  increase.  The  greatest  prosperity  had  been  in 
Dorchester,  Md.,  where  the  increase  was  500.  Here,  per- 
secution was  most  violent,  and  here  the  Lord  wrought  most 
powerfully ;  the  hosts  of  Satan  fought  hard,  but  the  Lord's 
hosts  conquered.  The  increase  in  the  connection  was  1246  ; 
the  whole  number  of  Methodists  was  11,785. 

After  the  Conference  ended  in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Asbury 
went  as  far  west  as  Colonel  Barratt's,  at  the  Allegheny  Moun- 
tain.* In  this  journey,  he  found  hard  fare.  He  says,  "  My 
poor  horse  was  so  weak,  for  want  of  proper  food,  that  he 
fell  down  with  me  twice.  This  hurt  my  feelings  more  than 
anything  I  met  with  in  my  journey.  The  merciful  man  con- 
sidereth  the  life  of  his  beast."  He  returned  through  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania,  into  Jersey,  where  John  Tunnell  and 
Joseph  Everett  were  laboring :  while  in  this  state,  he  went  as 
far  as  Monmouth  county,  where  Methodism  was  but  two  years 
old,  visiting  Upper  and  Lower  Freehold,  where  that  good  man, 
William  Tennant,  had  exercised  his  ministry.  From  here  he 
passed  to  the  Peninsula,  and,  for  the  first  time,  officiated  in 
White's  new  chapel.  After  paying  his  first  visit  to  Dor- 
chester, and  attending  a  large  and  powerful  quarterly  meet- 
ing at  Brother  Airey's,  he  came,  in  company  with  some 
twenty  preachers,  by  Judge  White's,  to  quarterly  meeting 
at  Barratt's  Chapel. 

There  were  four  preachers — William  Gill,  Moses  Park, 
Henry  Metcalf,  and  David  Abbott — sent  to  Sussex  Circuit, 
in  Delaware,  in  1782.  In  the  course  of  the  year,  it  was 
divided  ;  and  the  upper  part  was  called  Dover,  which  appears 
on  the  Minutes  the  following  year.  On  this  new  circuit,  Mr. 
David  Abbott  was  preaching  ;  and  in  October  of  this  year, 
his  father,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott,  came  on  the  circuit 
and  filled  the  appointments  for  the  son,  recorded  in  his  Life, 
pp.  120-126.     Mr.  Abbott  overtook   his  son,  preaching  to  a 

*  While  Mr,  Asbury  was  among  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  in  com- 
pany with  John  Ilagerty  and  other  preachers,  about  the  middle  of  July 
of  this  year  (1782),  that  horrible  tragedy,  recorded  by  J.  B.  Finley  in 
his  "  Sketches  of  Western  Methodism,"  -was  acted.  Big-Foot,  the 
Indian  warrior,  having  crossed  the  Ohio  river,  committed  murder  on 
its  banks,  and  was  pursued  and  killed  by  Adam  Poe  and  his  brother. 
(See  "  Sketches,'^  &c.,  by  Finley,  p.  540.) 


336  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

large  congregation  on  the  Sabbath,  in  an  orchard  which  was 
on  the  right  hand  side  of  the  road  from  Duck  Creek  Cross 
Roads  to  Duck  Creek  village.  This  orchard  is  no  more. 
"  Coming  behind  him,  he  saw  nothing  of  me  until  he  con- 
cluded. As  soon  as  he  stepped  oif  the  stand,  I  stepped  on, 
and  gave  an  exhortation — and  instantly  God  attended  the 
truth  with  power,  the  people  cried  aloud,  and  we  had  a  shout 
in  the  camp  ;  but  as  it  was  likely  to  interfere  with  our  next 
appointment,  I  dismissed  the  people,  and  went  to  Blackiston's 
Meeting-house,  where  the  people  expected  me,  and  a  large 
multitude  was  assembled.  I  preached  with  life  and  power, 
and  the  Lord  attended  the  word ;  many  wept,  and  I  trust 
some  good  was  done."  He  went  home  with  Mr.  Benjamin 
Blackiston ;  and  in  the  evening  met  class,  and  endeavored  to 
show  them  the  nature  of  holiness  of  heart.  "  While  speak- 
ing to  the  society,  one  and  another  cried  out,  until  the  cry 
became  general ;  and  there  was  such  weeping,  crying,  and 
shouting,  that  I  could  not  speak  to  any  more.  One  young 
woman  cried  out,  that  she  knew  she  was  not  an  angel ;  but  that 
God  had  given  her  a  clean  heart.  A  young  man — a  Baptist 
— clasped  me  round  the  neck,  and  said,  I  know  the  Lord  is 
here,  for  I  feel  his  Spirit.  I  was  as  happy  as  I  could  well 
continue  in  the  body." 

"  At  my  next  appointment,  the  power  of  the  Lord  was 
present.  One  sinner  fell  to  the  floor,  and  cried  mightily  to 
God  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul.  When  he  revived,  he 
declared  that  his  sins  were  pardoned  ;  and  exhorted  the  un- 
converted to  seek  the  Lord."  This  appointment,  as  also  the 
two  that  follow,  were  around  the  present  town  of  Smyrna  ; 
there  were  more  than  half  a  dozen  preaching  places  within 
eight  miles  of  this  place. 

At  his  next  appointment,  "  the  children  of  the  devil  were 
greatly  offended,  and  intended  that  day  to  kill  me ;  here  I 
had  a  crowded  congregation.  The  word  was  attended  with 
power.  Several  attempted  to  go  out,  but  the  crowd  about 
the  door  obliged  them  to  stay  in.  They  began  quickly  to 
fall  to  the  floor,  and  to  cry  aloud ;  and  soon  there  was  a 
shout  in  the  camp.  One  young  man  that  was  struck  to  the 
floor,  was  for  three  hours  apparently  dead  ;  his  flesh  grew 
cold,  his  fingers  so  stiff",  and  spread  open,  that  they  would 
not  yield.  Many  said.  He  is  dead.  I  now  for  the  first  time 
felt  fear  that  any  one  would  expire  under  the  mighty  power 
of  God ;  and  concluded  I  would  go  home,  and  not  proceed 
a  step  further,  as  killing  people  would  not  answer ;   but  at 


1782.]  IN   AMERICxV.  337 

last  he  came  to,  and  praised  God  for  what  he  had  done  for 
his  soul." 

"At  my  next  appointment,  I  preached  in  a  barn  to  a 
large  congregation.  There  was  much  \veeping.  Here  I 
met  with  two  young  Nicolites,  who  spoke  freely  to  me  on 
spiritual  things.  One  of  them  followed  me  three  days,  and 
left  me  full  of  tender  love."  The  Nicolites  sprung  from 
one  Nicols,  who  held  Quaker  principles ;  but  was  not  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Friends.  He  made  plainness  of  dress,  and 
light-colored  clothes,  part  of  his  religion ;  condemning  sing- 
ing (except  singing  their  discourses),  and  family  prayer  at 
set  times.  His  followers  were  few,  and  they  have  passed 
away.     We  have  heard  some  of  them  speak. 

"  My  next  appointment  was  at  the  house  of  a  preacher; 
who,  having  heard  of  what  was  going  on,  told  me  that  it  was 
all  confusion,  that  God  was  a  God  of  order.  I  told  him  he 
might  rest  assured  that  it  was  the  power  of  God.  While  I 
was  preaching,  the  power  seized  a  woman  sitting  before  me ; 
she  began  to  tremble,  and  fell  to  the  floor.  When  she  came 
to,  she  sprang  up,  clapping  her  hands,  and  crying  aloud,  '  Tell 
the  sinners  it  is  the  work  of  the  Lord !'  This  alarmed  the 
town,  and  brought  many  people  together ;  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  laid  hold  on  several  of  them ;  and  they  began  to  weep. 
Directly  the  slain  and  wounded  lay  all  through  the  house  ; 
some  crying  for  mercy,  and  others  praising  God;  and  among 
them  the  preacher,  in  whose  house  they  were.  Some  pro- 
fessed to  have  received  the  pardon  of  their  sins ;  and  one 
testified  that  the  blood  of  Christ  had  cleansed  from  all  sin. 
I  met  the  class;  and  spoke  first  to  the  preacher:  What  do 
you  now^  think  of  it,  my  brother — is  it  the  work  of  God  or 
not?  '  0!'  said  he,  'I  never  thought  that  God  would  pour 
out  his  Spirit  in  such  a  manner,  for  I  could  not  move  hand 
or  foot  any  more  than  a  dead  man ;  but  I  am  as  happy  as  I 
can  live.'  "  This  preacher  appears  to  have  been  Joseph  Wyatt, 
who  lived  at  Duck  Creek  Village,  or  at  Duck  Creek  Cross 
Roads. 

"  Next  day  I  preached  at  Brother  Cole's.  Here  I  found 
a  lively  class  ;  and  we  had  a  precious  time.  A  predesti- 
narian  woman  w^as  convinced,  and  joined  society."  John 
Cole,  it  appears,  lived  not  far  from  Duck  Creek  Cross  Roads. 

"  Next  morning  being  the  Lord's  day,  I  went  to  the 
preaching  house,  which,  though  large,  did  not  hold  half  the 
people.  I  preached  with  freedom;  and  many  wept.  I  spent 
the  evening  at  Brother  Cole's,  conversing  on  what  God  was 
doing  through  the  land."  As  Severson's  preaching  house 
29 


338  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

was  hardly  built  as  yet,  this  place  of  worship  seems  to  have 
been  either  Blackiston's,  or  Friendship,  in  Thoroughfare 
Neck. 

"I  went  from  hence  to  Brother  E.'s,  and  preached  to  a 
large  congregation  in  a  barn,  where  the  work  broke  out  in 
power :  many  cried  aloud  for  mercy,  while  others  were  re- 
joicing in  God.  Here  I  met  with  C.  R.,  a  pious  young 
woman,  who  professed  and  lived  sanctification."  In  this 
region  there  were  Richardsons,  Ridgleys,  and  Raymonds; 
but  who  C.  R.  was  we  can  make  no  safe  conjecture. 

"At  my  next  appointment  I  preached  to  a  large  congrega- 
tion in  the  woods,  and  was  informed  that  I  was  to  be  attacked 
by  the  clerk  of  the  Church,  who  had  attacked  some  of  our 
preachers.  The  power  of  God  attended  the  word,  and  the 
clerk  sat  with  his  spectacles  wrong  side  up,  twisting  and 
wringing  his  mouth,  and  pulling  and  tugging  those  near  him, 
until  they  grew  ashamed  of  him,  and  moved  away  from  him. 
I  fixed  my  eyes  upon  him,  and  cried  as  loud  as  I  could.  The 
devil  is  come  into  the  camp  !  The  devil  is  come  into  the 
camp  !  Help,  men  of  Israel !  Every  man  and  woman  to 
their  sword  !  Cry  mightily  to  God,  that  the  power  of  hell 
may  be  shaken  !  In  an  instant  we  had  the  shout  of  a  king 
in  the  camp ;  the  clerk  took  off  his  spectacles,  hung  his  head, 
and  did  not  raise  it  again  until  I  was  done.  When  service 
was  over,  many  came  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  did  not  see 
the  devil  bodily.  I  told  them  no ;  I  only  saw  one  of  his 
agents  acting  for  him.  Several  broken-hearted  sinners  flocked 
around  me  ;  I  requested  them  to  go  to  the  house  vrhere  I  was 
to  meet  class.  We  had  the  house  full.  I  concluded  only  to 
sing,  pray,  and  give  an  exhortation,  enforcing  sanctification, 
by  telling  them  what  God  was  doing  on  the  circuit.  Brother 
E.  was  soon  on  the  floor,  and  quickly  another,  until  four  fell. 
Soon  six  or  seven  sinners  fell  to  the  floor.  This  meeting 
lasted  about  two  hours,  during  which  Mr.  Abbott  and  the 
pious  Miss  C.  R.  labored  with  the  people." 

As  there  were  but  two  Episcopal  churches  in  the  bounds 
of  Dover  Circuit  at  this  time — one  at  Duck  Creek,  which  Mr. 
Abbott  had  just  left,  and  the  other  at  Dover — this  meeting 
was,  it  seems,  at  Dover.  The  woods  in  which  he  preached 
was,  in  all  probability,  that  beautiful  grove  where  Wesley 
Chapel  was  erected  two  years  afterwards;  and  the  comic 
clerk  was  the  clerk  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
Dover. 

"  Next  day  I  met  Brother  Asbury  and  about  twenty  other 
preachers,  at  Brother  Thomas  White's,  on  their  way  to  quar- 


1781.]  IN   AMERICA.  339 

terly  meeting.  Brother  Asbury  asked  me  what  news  I 
brought  from  the  sea-coast.  One  of  the  preachers  said 
(judging  from  his  common  appearance  that  he  was  a  dolt), 
'  Why,  he  can  tell  you  nothing.'  '  Yes,  yes,"  said  Brother 
Asbury,  'he  can  tell  us  something.'  I  then  related  how 
God  was  carrying  on  his  work,  and  they  were  amazed. 
Brother  Asbury  called  me  up  stairs,  and  told  me  I  must 
preach  that  evening.  I  told  him  I  could  not,  as  they  were 
all  preachers.  He  then  said,  '  You  must  exhort  after  me.' 
After  he  had  preached,  I  arose;  and,  as  they  were  mostly 
preachers,  I  related  my  experience,  and  exhorted  them  all  to 
holiness  of  heart.  In  the  morning,  Brother  Asbury  stroked 
down  my  hair,  and  said,  'Brother  Abbott,  the  black  coats 
scared  you  last  night.'  We  all  set  out  for  quarterly  meeting. 
Towards  evening,  not  far  from  the  place,  we  stopped  at  a 
door,  and  Brother  Asbury  said  to  the  man  of  the  house, 
'  You  must  send  out  and  gather  your  neighbors ;'  and  turn- 
ing to  me  said,  'You  must  preach  here  to-night.'  We  had  a 
large  congregation.  I  preached :  some  sighed,  some  groaned, 
and  others  wept. 

"  Next  morning  we  went  to  quarterly  meeting  at  Barratt's 
Chapel,  where  Brother  Asbury  preached  to  a  large  congre- 
gation, and  called  on  me  to  exhort.  Some  of  the  preachers 
wondered  w^here  he  had  gathered  up  that  old  fellow.  I  sung, 
prayed,  and  began  to  exhort;  and  God  came  down  in  his 
Spirit's  power,  as  in  ancient  days.  Some  fell  to  the  floor, 
others  ran  out  of  the  house,  many  cried  aloud  for  mercy, 
and  others  were  shouting  praises,  with  hearts  full  of  love 
divine.  Seeing  the  people  sit  on  the  joists  up  stairs,  I  was 
afraid  they  would  fall  through ;  this  caused  me  to  withhold, 
and  soon  the  meeting  ended." 

Mr.  Asbury  having  given  Mr.  Abbott  in  charge  of  one  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  neighborhood,  he  went  to  his  house, 
and  spent  the  afternoon  conversing  with  his  Christian  friends. 
Mr.  Abbott  says:  "In  the  evening  I  asked  if  any  of  them 
could  sing 

"  *  Still  out  of  the  deepest  abyss 
Of  trouble,  I  mournfully  cry ; 
I  pine  to  recover  ray  peace, 
To  see  my  Redeemer  and  die,  &c.' 

"  A  gentleman  from  Dorchester  answered  he  could,  and  they 
sung  it  with  such  melodious  voices,  and  with  the  spirit,  that  it 
was  attended  with  great  power.  The  gentleman's  lady  (at 
whose  house  he  put  up)  and  two  others  fell  to  the  floor.    When 


340  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1781. 

done  singing,  we  kneeled  down  to  pray,  and  several  fell ;  the 
man  of  the  house,  who  had  been  a  backslider,  got  restored ; 
many  prayers  were  sent  up  to  God,  both  by  men  and  women. 
Our  meeting  continued  three  hours. 

"  Next  morning,  our  love-feast  began  at  sunrise.  The 
crowd  was  so  great  (at  that  early  hour)  that  we  could  not 
go  round  with  the  bread  and  water.  It  was  supposed  that 
as  many  were  outside  as  in  the  house.  Brother  Asbury 
opened  the  love-feast,  and  bade  the  people  speak.  Many 
spoke  powerfully,  and  it  was  a  precious  time." 

The  love-feast  being  ended,  there  was  preaching  and  ex- 
hortation, attended  with  Divine  power.  After  a  profitable 
waiting  before  the  Lord,  the  meeting  ended,  and  Mr.  Abbott 
returned  to  his  home  in  Penn's  Neck,  in  New  Jersey. 

The  Methodists  began  to  establish  themselves  in  Radnor 
about  the  year  1780,  or  soon  afterwards.  It  is  said  that  the 
first  class  was  formed  in  1782.  The  James's,  Giger's,  and 
White's,  were  the  principal  families  in  this  society.  David 
and  Isaac  James  were  preachers.  The  former,  if  not  the 
latter,  itinerated  for  some  years.  Mr.  David  James  lived 
for  several  years  in  Trenton,  and  may  have  died  there.  Dr. 
Isaac  James  is  living,  though  old  and  feeble,  in  Bustleton, 
Philadelphia  courj-ty.  Several  of  the  individuals  that  formed 
the  first  class  in  Radnor,  lived  to  a  good  old  age  :  John  Giger 
and  his  companion  were  far  advanced  in  life  at  the  time  of 
their  death.  Mary  White,  another  of  the  original  class, 
who  united  with  it  in  her  thirteenth  year,  after  honoring 
Methodism  for  more  than  seventy-one  years  has  been 
gathered  home,  in  her  eighty-fifth  year.  Between  1780  and 
1790,  the  Radnor  Methodists  built  their  first  little  chapel, 
which  was  rebuilt  in  1832. 

About  this  time,  a  meeting  was  established  at  Mr.  Aaron 
Matson's,  near  the  Seven  Stars  (now  Village  Green).  About 
1797,  a  meeting-house  was  built  here,  which  has  been  known 
as  Mount  Hope ;  this  meeting  sprung  from  Cloud's  (now 
Bethel)  meeting. 

One  of  the  old  appointments  on  Chester  Circuit,  was  at 
Romansville.  Here,  an  old  Friend  gave  the  Methodists  a 
lot,  which  is  still  a  place  of  sepulture.  In  this  neighbor- 
hood lived  Jesse  Woodward  and  Brother  Ball,  both  old 
Methodists.  This  meeting  was  substituted  by  the  Laurel 
Chapel. 


1782.1  IN    AMERICA.  341 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

In  December,  1780,  Mr.  Asbury  employed  Mr.  Charles 
Twyford  on  the  Sussex  Circuit,  that  Mr.  Rowe  might  go 
down  to  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,  to  see  what  opening 
there  was  there  for  Methodism.  Mr.  Samuel  Rowe  was,  it 
seems,  the  first  Methodist  preacher  that  went  to  Accomac 
county.  He  returned  to  his  circuit  in  a  few  weeks'  time. 
From  this  time,  Methodist  preachers  visited  the  Eastern 
Shore  of  Virginia. 

The  first  appointments  east  of  the  Pocomoke  river,  were 
at  Melvin's  and  Captain  Downing's.  Soon  after,  the 
Methodists  preached  at  Colonel  Burton's,*  Colonel  Para- 
more's,  and  at  Garrettson's  Chapel.  The  first  society  in 
Accomac  county  was  formed  in  1783,  consisting  of  five 
persons,  one  of  whom  was  Christiana  Newton,  who  was 
awakened  in  1782,  by  hearing  a  Methodist  preacher  per- 
forming family  worship  in  a  neighbor's  house — most  likely, 
the  first  time  she  ever  heard  one  pray.  Soon  after,  she 
yielded  to  the  persuasions  of  her  gay  associates,  against  her 
convictions,  and  attended  a  ball.  When  she  returned  from 
the  ball,  such  were  the  rebukes  of  her  conscience,  that  she 
cast  all  her  ball-going  finery  into  the  flames ;  and,  in  holy 
revenge,  burnt  them  to  ashes — never  afterwards  wearing 
useless  ornaments.  She  married  Mr.  Isaiah  Bagwell.  After 
living  in  sweet  communion  with  the  Methodists  for  fifty-six 
years,  she  died,  in  hope  of  blissful  immortality,  aged  eighty- 

*  Some  of  the  old  preachers  amused  themselves  ])j  relating  the 
manner  in  which  Brother  Burton,  of  Accomac,  used  to  express  him- 
self. When  the  itinerant  approached  his  door,  he  would  call  to  hie 
servant,  Samuel — "  Sam,  take  this  horse  and  hang  it  up  in  the  porch; 
take  the  saddle  to  the  stable,  and  feed  it ;  feed  it  well,  Sam."  While 
the  preacher  was  going  on  with  his  sermon,  he  would  sit  and  pat  his 
foot,  or,  as  it  was  phrased,  "  keep  the  spinning-wheel  moving  ;"  but  if, 
at  any  time,  the  speaker  said  anything  that  seemed  to  bear  on  slavery, 
such  as  "Let  the  oppressed  go  free,"  &c.,  the  spinning-wheel  would  stop 
until  the  preacher  passed  to  some  other  topic,  when  the  wheel  would  move 
on  again.  He  was  fond  of  lively  meetings.  In  class,  when  he  wished 
some  lively  air  sung,  such  as  "Run  and  never  weary,"  &c.,  he  would 
say,  "  Sam,  sing  tire  and  never  run :  sing  it  lively,  Sam."  In  his  common 
hall  he  had  a  closet,  where  he  performed  his  private  devotions.  When 
he  knelt  down  the  door  would  not  shut  ;  so  his  head  was  in,  and  his 
heels  were  out ;  he  could  still  be  seen  and  heard  as  he  whispered 
his  prayers.     This  is  stated  to  show  his  singularity. 


342  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1782. 

one  years.  At  her  death,  she  was  the  last  of  the  five 
original  Methodists  of  Accomac  county. 

About  1783,  the  preachers  began  to  occupy  Northampton 
county.  In  1784  there  were  about  one  hundred  Methodists 
on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia;  and  now  the  Methodists 
were  in  every  county  on  the  Peninsula. 

Messrs.  Davis,  Laws,  and  Purnell,  were  among  the  first  to 
have  Methodist  preaching  in  their  houses,  in  Worcester 
county,  Maryland.  In  1782  Messrs.  Freeborn  Garrettson, 
Woolman  Hickson,  and  John  Magary,  were  stationed  on 
Somerset  Circuit.  One  of  the  appointments  on  this  circuit 
was  at  Robin  Davis's,  near  Indiantown,  in  Worcester. 
Near  by  lived  Elijah  Laws,  a  vestryman  in  the  Church  of 
England,  as  it  had  been  called.  He  gave  the  Methodist 
preachers  a  hearing,  and  called  them  deceivers,  and  refused 
to  hear  them  again.  He  had  a  daughter,  whose  name  was 
Rhoda,  then  in  her  twelfth  year,  who  had  been  raised  in  the 
views  that  church  people  then  generally  had,  of  the  innocency 
of  dancing,  and  other  worldly  amusements.  Rhoda  paid  a 
visit  to  a  widow  lady  of  her  acquaintance,  with  whom  she 
went,  for  the  first  time,  to  hear  a  Methodist  preach.  Wool- 
man  Hickson  was  the  preacher.  After  he  had  opened  up 
the  plan  of  salvation,  he  applied  his  discourse,  in  which  he 
told  his  hearers,  that  all  actual  sinners,  including  dancers, 
would,  unless  they  repented  and  were  pardoned,  be  damned 
to  all  eternity.  Rhoda  could  not  feel  that  she  was  guilty 
of  any  sin  which  he  named,  unless  dancing  was  a  sin. 

After  sermon,  Brother  Hickson  read  the  General  Rules, 
and  requested  all  who  wished  to  join  to  follow  him  up  stairs. 
Robin  Davis,  his  brother,  their  wives,  the  widow  woman,  and 
Rhoda  Laws  followed  him.  The  preacher  spoke  to  each  of 
the  six.  When  he  spoke  to  Rhoda  she  said  she  had  not 
considered  herself  a  sinner;  but  if  dancing  was  a  sin,  as  he 
had  said,  she  must  admit  that  she  was  a  sinner ;  and  she 
began  to  weep.  Five  had  their  names  written  on  the  class- 
paper.  Rhoda  was  asked  if  she  would  have  her  name  en- 
rolled ?  A  question  was  raised  as  to  the  propriety  of  con- 
sulting her  father  first.  Mr.  Davis  replied  that  her  father 
was  a  man  of  moderation,  and  would  use  no  violence  towards 
his  daughter.  Before  the  preacher  wrote  her  name  he  lifted 
up  his  eyes,  hands,  and  soul  to  God,  and  prayed  that  her 
name  might  be  written  in  heaven  and  never  erased.  She 
returned  home,  fearing  to  tell  her  father  what  had  taken 
place.  Early  next  morning  her  brother  Elijah,  who  was 
settled  in  the  neighborhood,  was  seen  riding  with  great  speed 


1782.]  IN   AMERICA.  343 

to  liis  father's  house.  The  father  stood  m  his  porch  and 
wondered  why  his  son  was  coming  with  such  speed,  so  early 
in  the  morning.  Arriving  at  the  house,  the  son  hastily 
threw  the  reins  of  his  horse's  bridle  over  his  head  on  the 
pales,  and  seemed  as  anxious  to  speak  as  his  father  was  to 
hear,  saying,  "  What  do  you  think  ?  Yesterday  Rhoda 
joined  that  new  preacher ;  and  now  she  must  give  up  gay 
dress,  dancing,  and  worldly  amusement.  She  is  ruined ; 
and  she  cannot  be  gotten  away."  The  father  listened  to  this 
tale,  and  after  a  moment  replied,  "  Well,  if  the  Methodists 
disown  people  for  dancing  they  will  soon  be  clear  of  Rhoda, 
as  she  will  dance  the  first  opportunity  she  has."  The  next 
Sabbath  her  parents  went  to  church ;  and  Rhoda  asked  per- 
mission to  visit  the  widow  of  her  acquaintance,  with  whom, 
leaving  her  superfluous  apparel  behind,  she  went  to  meet  her 
class.  Not  long  afterwards  Mr.  Garrettson  came  to  Mr. 
Laws,  one  Saturday  afternoon.  No  one  knew  who  he  was 
but  Rhoda.  He  asked  the  favor  of  a  night's  lodging.  Squire 
Laws  bade  him  alight,  as  he  never  turned  strangers  from  his 
doors.  The  guest  was  soon  known.  He  held  family  worship 
both  night  and  morning.  When  about  to  start  for  his 
appointment,  which  was  at  Vincent's,  what  has  since  been 
called  the  Line  Chapel,  he  gave  a  word  of  advice  to  each 
member  of  the  family,  blacks  as  well  as  whites.  To  Rhoda 
he  said,  "  Your  mourning  cannot  purchase  pardon.  Ask 
God,  in  faith,  to  forgive  you,  for  Christ's  sake."  The 
preacher  started  for  his  appointment,  and  Rhoda  to  her 
father's  barn  to  reduce  to  practice  the  advice  she  had  just 
received.  She  knelt  down  to  pray,  but  hearing  a  rustling 
noise  in  the  fodder,  she  feared  the  devil  was  there,  and  in 
aff'right  she  arose  and  went  to  the  back  of  the  orchard  and 
fell  upon  her  knees  behind  an  apple-tree,  and  earnestly 
implored  God  to  forgive  her  sins,  on  account  of  what  Christ 
had  suffered  for  her.  Suddenly,  by  faith,  she  saw  her  bleed- 
ing Saviour  pass  before  her,  and  felt  that  she  was  freely 
forgiven,  while  her  soul  was  filled  with  melting  joy.  While 
she  was  under  conviction  her  father  had  taken  her  from 
school,  thinking  that  he  could  not  make  a  scholar  of  her  on 
account  of  her  sadness;  but  now  she  was  happy  and  cheer- 
ful. One  Sunday  she  returned  from  her  meeting  and  found 
the  Church  minister  and  Captain  Steward,  one  of  the  vestry, 
at  her  father's.  At  dinner  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
presumption  of  the  Methodists  professing  to  know  their  sins 
forgiven.  Captain  Steward  said,  "No  one  on  earth  could 
know  his  sins  forgiven."    The  youthful  Rhoda  replied,  under 


344  RISE   OF    METHODISM"  [1782. 

an  impulse  that  seemed  to  come  by  inspiration,  "  That  is  not 
so."  Shocked  at  her  unpremeditated  reply  to  such  a  gen- 
tleman, who  was  her  father's  guest,  she  arose  in  haste  to 
leave  the  room ;  though  the  captain  desired  her  to  remain 
and  tell  all  she  knew  about  it :  she  went  out.  It  was  not 
long  before  a  ball  was  gotten  up  at  Mr.  Laws's  for  the  purpose 
of  trying  Rhoda's  religion.  The  young  people  commenced 
dancing,  but  she  was  with  her  father  in  another  room.  Her 
father  requested  her  to  go  into  the  company.  She  arose  and 
went  into  the  entry,  and  a  young  man  laid  hold  of  her  to 
drag  her  on  the  floor  for  his  partner.  She  pulled  away  from 
him  and  went  into  the  kitchen  and  read  the  Bible  to  the 
cook,  a  colored  woman.  After  awhile  she  returned  to  the 
room  where  her  father  was,  who  asked,  "  Where  have  you 
been,  Rhoda?"  She  replied,  "Reading  to  the  cook;  she 
loves  to  hear  the  Bible  read  !"  Her  father  rejoined,  "  Rhoda, 
I  fear  that  you  will  ruin  my  servants  and  humble  your 
fjimily,  and  bring  yourself  to  nothing."  She  replied,  "Father, 
if  I  had  danced  I  should  have  sinned  against  my  God  and 
my  conscience.  I  want  to  go  to  heaven  when  I  die,  and  I 
cannot  go  there  in  my  sins."  Her  father's  countenance 
fell — he  rested  his  head  on  his  hand,  supported  by  his  elbow, 
while  the  tear  rolled  down  his  cheek.  The  next  preaching 
day,  according  to  her  custom,  she  asked  permission  to  attend, 
to  which  he  assented,  and  also  went  with  her.  Mr.  Garrett- 
son  preached,  whereupon  Mr.  Laws  offered  the  use  of  his 
house,  which  was  large,  provided  the  Methodists  would 
preach  in  it  on  Sundays  at  an  hour  that  would  not  conflict 
with  service  in  his  church,  to  which  Mr.  Garrettson  assented ; 
and  Mr.  Laws's  became  a  Sabbath  appointment  on  Somerset 
Circuit.  Soon  the  father  and  mother  became  Methodists ; 
and  her  brother  Elijah,  who  was  panic-struck  when  he  heard 
of  what  he  supposed  was  her  ruin,  if  not  the  ruin  of  the 
whole  family,  was  "also  among  the  prophets;"  and  was 
made  class-leader  over  his  father,  mother,  and  his  sister 
Rhoda. 

The  above  account  we  had  not  from  Rhoda,  the  young 
convert  of  twelve  years  old ;  but  from  Rhoda,  the  Christian 
of  sixty-eight  years'  experience  in  the  service  of  her  Re- 
deemer, in  the  M.  E.  Church.  In  1850  she  triumphed 
over  death,  in  her  eightieth  year ;  and  while  her  soul  was 
carried  by  angels  to  Abraham's  bosom,  her  body  was  borne 
to  its  lasting  place  in  Southwark. 

Rhoda  Laws  was  first  married  to  a  Brother  Vincent,  of 
the  Line  Chapel.    They  lived  near  Laurel,  in  Delaware,  and 


1782.]  IN   AMERICA.  345 

entertained  the  preachers  for  many  years  in  their  house. 
Her  daughter,  by  this  marriage,  was  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Jeffries,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  Her 
second  husband  was  a  Mr.  Beckworth,  near  Milford,  Del. ; 
and  her  third  husband  was  a  Mr.  Evans,  of  Delaware. 

Mr.  Garrettson,  while  laboring  on  Somerset  Circuit, 
preached  at  the  funeral  of  Prudence  Hudson  who  was 
awakened  and  converted  under  his  ministry  in  1779.  "  She 
followed  the  preaching  day  and  night.  Go  where  I  would, 
if  within  eight  or  ten  miles,  she  was  there ;  and  she  gener- 
ally walked.  I  frequently  met  her  in  class,  where  she 
expressed  a  desire  of  loving  God  supremely.  She  lived  so 
as  not  to  grieve  her  brethren,  or  wound  the  cause  of  God. 
She  married  a  pious  young  man  ;  after  which  she  soon  died. 
She  seemed  to  have  a  presentiment  of  her  approaching  end; 
desiring  her  husband  to  pray  for  her  that  she  might  be 
cleansed  from  all  sin.  Shortly  after  the  Lord  so  filled  her 
soul  with  his  love  that  she  cried  out,  '  Come,  Lord  Jesus, 
come  quickly,  and  take  my  raptured  soul  away.'  To  her 
weeping  friends  she  declared  that  God  had  sanctified  her 
wholly,  and  made  her  meet  for  heaven.  She  bid  them  dry 
their  tears,  for  she  was  going  to  glory.  She  embraced  her 
parents,  thanking  them  for  their  kindness ;  and  exhorted  her 
classmates  to  faithfulness :  she  said,  '  Many  a  time  have  we 
walked  together  to  our  meetings,  and  now  I  am  going  to 
receive  my  reward  !"  She  warned  her  husband  against  keep- 
ing slaves.  So  enraptured  was  she  with  the  prospect  of 
glory  that  she  frequently  exclaimed,  '  0,  death,  where  is  thy 
sting  !  0,  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  !  Thus  she  continued 
for  several  days  exulting,  and  exhorting  all  around  her,  and 
thus  fell  asleep  in  the  arms  of  Jesus."  It  appears  that  she 
lived  in  the  lower  end  of  Sussex,  or  in  Somerset  county. 

Of  those  who  first  embraced  Methodism  in  Somerset 
county,  Md.,  and  became  pillars  among  them,  we  have 
already  named  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryder  and  Mr.  Nellum.  To 
these  we  may  add  Dr.  Robinson,  Messrs.  Curtis,  Myles, 
Phoebus,  Farley,  and  Captain  Conoway  at  Wycomoco  river. 
The  Rev.  William  Phoebus  was  the  first  travelling  preacher 
from  this  county.  Afterwards  came  Hope  Hull  and  Benton 
Riggin,  if  not  James  Riggin  too.  Doctor  Robinson  was  a 
local  preacher,  and,  we  presume,  Mrs.  Matthew  Soren  is  his 
granddaughter.  The  first  chapels  in  Annamessex  were 
Curtis's  and  Myles's,  called  after  the  above  named  brethren. 
It  seems  that  they  were  erected  as  early  as  1784,  as  Dr. 
Coke,  as  appears  from  his  Journal,  preached  in  both  of  them 


846  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1782. 

this  year.  At  this  time  Somerset  circuit  reached  into  Wor- 
cester county  where  Methodism  was  ah-eady  planted  ;  and 
into  that  part  of  it  between  the  Pocomoke  river  and  the 
Atlantic  it  was  introduced  in  1783. 

Among  the  societies  first  raised  up  on  Somerset  Circuit 
was  the  one  on  Devil's,  or  Deal's  Island,  which  lies  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Nanticoke  river,  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  Mr. 
Garrettson  informs  us,  that  on  this  island  there  was  "  a  large 
and  faithful  society"  as  early  as  1782.  Since  that  time  there 
have  been  a  number  of  interesting  camp  meetings  held  on 
this  island,  as  well  as  on  Tangiers,  in  the  same  bay. 

During  this  year  while  Mr.  Garrettson  was  preaching  on 
Somerset  Circuit,  when  on  his  way  to  Devil's,  or  Deal's 
Island,  to  preach,  he  had  the  dream  or  vision  found  on  pp. 
125-126  of  his  life.  Falling  asleep  in  a  friend's  house,  it 
appeared  to  him,  "  That  some  wicked  people  came  to  the 
place  where  I  was,  and  spoke  evil  of  the  ways  of  God.  The 
man  of  the  house  asked  me  to  go  to  prayer.  In  a  short  time 
I  seemed  to  be  dying.  I  searched  for  my  witness  of  God's 
favor,  and  felt  that  I  might  have  been  more  faithful.  I 
wished  to  live  longer,  that  I  might  be  more  useful  in  bringing 
souls  to  Christ.  Instead  of  dying  it  seemed  that  I  fell  into  a 
trance,  and  was  taken  to  the  other  world,  where  I  had  a  view 
of  hell.  It  was  thought  expedient  for  me  to  enter  its  mouth. 
I  thought  the  fire  had  no  power  to  hurt  me.  An  awful  scene 
was  presented  to  my  mind.  What  feelings  I  had  for  precious 
souls  !  On  looking  forward  I  could  see  no  end  to  the  sea  of 
fire,  whose  high  surges,  one  after  another,  at  short  intervals, 
continually  rolled  along.  I  saw  the  damned  beat  about  by 
them  in  all  the  tortures  of  agony,  toiling  and  striving  to  stem 
the  waves,  which  like  molten  metal  drove  them  back,  while 
the  place  resounded  with  their  groans.  0,  it  was  indescrib- 
ably awful !  Sometimes  the  sea  would  sink  into  a  black 
calm,  and  a  dismal  noisome  smoke  would  ascend.  I  stood 
and  trembled  as  I  saw  the  damned  rising  in  the  liquid  ele- 
ment; and  then  other  waves  of  fire  would  arise  and  beat 
them  back.  While  I  looked  on  it  was  asked,  '  Will  you  after 
this  be  faithful  in  warning  sinners?'  I  thought  I  would  be 
more  faithful,  and  that  my  whole  life  should  be  spent  in  this 
exercise.  I  then  requested  to  be  carried  to  heaven,  but  the 
answer  was,  'You  have  seen  enough,  return  and  be  faithful.' 
On  awaking  I  sat  up  in  the  bed  filled  with  wonder."  Such 
were  the  crowds  that  followed  him  on  Somerset  Circuit  that 
no  house  would  contain  them,  and  he  had  to  preach  to  them 


1782.]  IN  AMERICA.  847 

in  the  open  fields  and  in  the  groves,  where  he  had  most 
solemn  and  profitable  seasons. 

Mr.  Garrettson,  having  spent  about  six  months  in  success- 
ful labors  on  Somerset  Circuit,  attended  the  quarterly  meet- 
ing at  Barratt's  Chapel  in  the  beginning  of  November  1782. 
The  last  half  of  this  Conference  year  he  travelled  and 
preached  in  New  Castle  and  Kent  counties,  in  Delaware, 
and  in  Dorchester,  in  Maryland.  Many  of  the  societies  in 
these  counties  he  had  been  instrumental  in  raising  up  a  few 
years  before.  While  here,  he  felt  that  he  was  among  his 
children :  they  took  sweet  counsel  together,  and  great  was 
their  rejoicing.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  him  to  preach 
to  a  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  people  assembled  together. 

He  observes,  "  I  rode  down  in  the  Neck  (most  likely 
Jones's  Neck),  and  preached  near  Delaware  Bay.  Four 
years  ago  (1778,  when  he  Avas  first  in  this  region),  I  preached 
in  this  house,  when  the  whole  Neck  seemed  to  be  in  Egyp- 
tian darkness.  I  never  visited  them  again  until  now;  and, 
as  I  thought  then,  labored  to  little  purpose  ;  I  now  find  among 
them  twoscore  professing  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ, 
many  of  whom  date  their  conversion  from  that  day." 

Meeting  with  George  Moore  of  Broad  Creek,  they  rejoiced 
together  greatly  in  considering  the  great  amount  of  good 
which  God  had  done  in  this  part  of  his  vineyard  during  the 
last  four  years.  About  this  time  he  preached  at  the  funeral 
of  "  our  dear  brother  Smith,"  who  had  lived  a  life  of  piety. 
He  bore  his  afflictions  like  a  Christian.  He  lost  his  speech, 
in  a  measure,  some  months  before  his  death ;  but  the  signs 
he  made  and  the  tears  which  so  plentifully  flowed  removed 
all  doubt  of  his  readiness  for  death.  He  lived  happy  and 
died  happy,  and  left  a  family  happy  in  God.  It  appears 
that  he  lived  and  died  not  far  from  Barratt's  Chapel. 

Under  date  of  January,  1783,  he  says,  "I  am  once  more 
among  my  Dover  friends.  Surely  God  is  among  this  people. 
The  last  Sabbath  I  preached  here  the  Lord  in  mercy  laid  his 
hand  upon  one  of  the  greatest  persecutors  in  this  town.  In 
his  distress  he  cried  mightily  to  God,  until  he  converted  his 
soul ;  and  also  his  wife,  and  his  sister-in-law ;  and  now  he 
is  resolutely  determined  on  helping  to  build  a  brick  chapel. 
I  visited  Sister  Bassett,  who,  in  her  affliction,  is  one  of  the 
happiest  women  I  have  met  with — a  living  witness  of  sancti- 
fication,  whose  soul  seems  to  be  continually  wrapped  in  a 
flame  of  love.  Several  of  this  family  are  happy  in  the  love 
of  God  ;  and  four  of  them  profess  to  enjoy  perfect  love. 
Surely  God  has  a  church  in  Mr.  Bassett's  house." 


348  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1782. 

While  visiting  the  societies  in  Kent  and  New  Castle 
counties,  he  enjoyed  sweet  consolation  among  them.  He 
found  many  of  the  members  going  on  to  perfection.  He 
generally  preached  once  or  twice  every  day,  besides  meeting 
the  classes  ;  and  while  engaged  in  this  work  he  realized  the 
happiness  of  a  father  visiting  his  spiriual  children  ;  and  could 
say  with  St.  John,  "  I  have  no  greater  joy  than  to  find  my  chil- 
dren walking  in  the  truth."  As  he  was  wholly  given  up  to 
the  work  of  saving  souls,  he  often  "wept  between  the  porch 
and  the  altar,"  and  felt  that  "  the  burden  of  the  Lord  was 
upon  him."  In  this  way  he  went  on  until  the  May  following, 
when  he  repaired  to  Baltimore  to  attend  Conference. 

It  was  about  the  year  1782  that  Mr.  Robert  North  Car- 
nan  became  a  Methodist.  He  was  a  citizen  of  Baltimore 
county,  Md.,  and  had  rendered  active  service  during  the 
Eevolutionary  war.  He  belonged  to  the  upper  strata  of 
society — being  cousin  to  Gen.  Ridgley,  afterwards  governor 
of  Maryland ;  also,  to  Mrs.  Prudence  Gough.  Mrs.  Carnan 
had  already  attached  herself  to  the  Methodists  as  a  seeker. 
Brother  Richard  Owen,  one  of  the  early  preachers,  spoke 
searchingly  to  her  in  class-meeting  on  a  certain  occasion,  at 
which  she  was  much  wounded  in  her  feelings ;  but  it  resulted 
in  her  happy  conversion  to  God.  Her  husband  was  too  much 
of  a  gentleman  to  use  violent  measures  to  throw  her  off  of 
her  religious  course,  and  undertook  to  laugh  her  out  of  her 
religious  enthusiasm ;  but,  instead  of  jesting  her  out  of  her 
enjoyments,  he  soon  became  seriously  concerned  for  his  own 
spiritual  welfare.  Like  most  of  the  Maryland  gentry,  he 
was  fond  of  the  turf,  and,  at  the  time  of  his  awakening,  was 
eno-ao-ed  in  a  horse-race.  He  now  had  trouble  enouo-h 
between  consummating  the  race  and  hushing  the  clamors  of 
an  awakened  conscience.  Being  a  member  of  the  so-called 
Church  of  England,  he  advised  with  his  parson,  who  told  him 
that  all  that  he  knew  of  religion,  or  of  Christianity,  con- 
sisted in  attending  to  the  ordinances  and  services  of  the 
Church ;  that  if  Mr.  C.  continued  to  do  this,  he  was  sure  of 
heaven.  The  peace  and  joy  which  Mr.  Carnan  failed  to  find 
in  attending  to  the  Church  service,  he  found  in  believing  in 
Christ.  Soon  as  the  parson  heard  the  news  of  peace  be- 
tween England  and  the  United  States,  which  was  in  the 
early  part  of  1782,  he  hastened  to  communicate  it  to  Mr. 
Carnan,  as  he  was  a  chief  citizen,  and  also  a  leading  member 
of  his  church.  When  they  were  seated  at  the  dinner  table, 
the  parson  availed  himself  of  that  time,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Car- 
nan, have  you  heard  the  glorious  news  of  peace?"     Mr.  C. 


1782.]  IN    AMERICA.  349 

replied,  ''  No ;  but  I  have  found  peace  with  God  to  my  soul ; 
and  you  don't  know  anything  about  this,  for  you  told  me 
so."  This  was  such  a  withering  declaration,  that  it  destroyed 
the  poor  parson's  zest  for  dinner.  Soon  as  the  news  of 
Robert's  conversion  reached  his  mother,  she  sent  her  son 
Charles  Carnan  to  reclaim  him  from  the  Methodists,  if  such 
a  thing  could  be  done.  When  Charles  arrived,  he  found  the 
house  shut  up,  for  Brother  and  Sister  Carnan  had  gone  to 
Methodist  meeting.  Charles  waited  until  they  returned ; 
the  brothers  met  in  the  yard ;  Robert  exclaimed,  "  0,  brother 
Charles,  I  never  was  so  glad  to  see  you  in  all  my  life !"  and 
throwing  his  arms  around  his  neck,  wept  for  joy,  telling  him 
how  the  Lord  had  blessed  him.  This  melted  Charles,  and 
quite  reconciled  him  to  the  religion  of  Robert.  He  returned 
home,  and  when  his  anxious  mother  inquired  of  him  of  the 
result  of  his  mission,  he  replied,  "0  ma.  Bob  is  right." 

Mr.  Carnan  joined  the  Methodists,  and  soon  began  to  pray 
in  public,  and  exhort  his  neighbors  to  serve  God.  From  a 
sense  of  duty,  he  liberated  his  slaves.  After  Mrs.  Carnan 
had  enjoyed  the  happiness  of  experimental  religion  for 
twenty  years,  she  made  a  blessed  end,  leaving  a  shining 
example  to  posterity ;  she  died  in  1802.  Mr.  Carnan  mar- 
ried, for  his  second  wife,  a  widow  Ennalls,  of  Dorchester 
county,  Md., — one  of  the  early  and  devoted  Methodists  of 
the  county — a  witness  of  perfect  love.  Mr.  Carnan  survived 
his  second  wife.  His  only  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  con- 
verted in  early  life.  She  was  an  intelligent  and  lively 
Christian — never  married — and  died  before  her  father.  Mr. 
Carnan  was  the  chief  man  in  founding  the  Stone  Chapel  on 
Baltimore  Circuit.  After  he  had  served  the  Methodist 
church  efficiently  as  a  class-leader,  steward,  and  exhorter,  for 
about  fifty  years,  wept  the  loss  of  an  only  daughter  and  two 
wives,  he  followed  them  to  glory  at  an  advanced  age. 

About  the  same  time  that  Mr.  Carnan  united  with  the 
iNlethodists,  Mr.  Caleb  Bosley,  of  the  same  region,  joined. 
He  was  also,  a  zealous  supporter  of  Methodism.  Mr.  David 
Gorsuch  and  Mr.  Cornelius  Howard  afterwards  became  mem- 
bers at  the  Stone  Chapel.  They  have  been  gathered  home. 
The  Stone  Chapel  was  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Method- 
ism :  in  1800  the  Baltimore  Conference  was  held  at  this 
place.  See  "  Recollections  of  an  Old  Itinerant,"  pp.  179, 
185. 

About  this  time  there  were  some  remarkable  conversions 
and  acquisitions  among  the  Methodists  of  Queen  Anne's 
county,  Md.  One  of  these  was  Mr.  Chair,  near  Centreville, 
30 


350  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

who  had  a  passion  for  fox-hunting.  In  religion  he  found 
such  happiness  that  he  no  longer  sought  pleasure  in  the 
chase.  When  he  ceased  to  employ  his  hounds  in  running 
foxes,  though  he  took  the  same  care  of  them,  they  left  him 
one  by  one,  until,  in  the  course  of  tAvo  months,  they  were  all 
gone  from  him :  he  was  too  pious  for  them,  and  they  sought 
employment  elsewhere.  Mr.  Chair  was  a  zealous  class- 
leader.  Col.  Hopper  also  became  a  Methodist,  and  his  house 
a  preaching  place.  Mr.  Boardly  was  brought  in  about  this 
time. 

The  Wright  family,  of  this  county,  on  account  of  wealth 
and  position,  was  one  of  the  great  families.  Mr.  Robert 
Wright  was  governor  of  Maryland  at  one  time.  Contrary 
to  the  general  feeling  which  pervaded  this  family,  his  son 
Thomas  inclined  to  follow  the  Methodists.  The  father  pe- 
remptorily forbid  him.  The  son  reasoned  with  his  father 
thus  :  "  Why  may  I  not  hear  them  ? — these  men  preach  the 
truth  !"  The  father  let  him  know,  in  language  unmistakably 
plain,  that  if  he  continued  to  cleave  to  the  Methodists  he 
would  be  punished  and  disinherited.  The  son  replied,  "  Fa- 
ther, the  influence  which  draws  me  to  the  Methodists,  is 
good,  and  conscience  and  heaven  approve."  Thomas,  finally, 
made  a  profession  of  religion,  and  joined  society.  Soon 
after,  it  was  known  to  the  father,  who  invited  the  son  up 
stairs  to  a  private  conference,  taking  along,  as  an  umpire,  a 
cow-skin  or  horse-whip.  Thomas  pleaded  that  he  had  done 
only  what  he  felt  to  be  a  duty.  While  the  father  Avas  fiercely 
plying  the  lash,  the  son  caught  him  round  the  waist,  saying, 
"  Father,  how  I  love  you  !  I  have  had  doubts  of  my  accept- 
ance with  God,  but  now  they  are  all  gone ;  I  have  assurance." 
As  they  were  in  close  quarters,  the  father  had  lost  much  of 
his  power  in  applying  the  whip  ;  and,  as  his  ire  was  some- 
what spent,  the  fray  ended. 

The  old  gentleman's  sons  were  in  the  habit  of  planting 
out  trees  for  fruit  and  for  ornament,  thus  improving  the 
estate  of  their  father,  which  they  expected  to  possess. 
Once  when  his  sons  were  planting  out  trees,  he  said,  "  Tom, 
what  is  the  reason  that  you  do  not  plant  out  trees  as  your 
brothers  do  ?"  Thomas  answered,  "  It  is  no  use  for  me  to 
plant  out  trees,  father,  since  you  have  assured  me  that  you 
will  disinherit  me.  Nevertheless,  if  my  brothers  desire  it, 
and  will  ask  me,  I  will  help  them  to  plant  out."  When  Mr, 
Robert  Wright  deceased,  and  his  will  was  opened,  contrary 
to  the  expectation  of  Thomas  and  the  community,  the  home- 
stead was  given  to  his  Methodist  son ;  and  it  was  a  home  for 


1782.]  IN    AMERICA.  351 

Methodist  preachers.  Mr.  Thomas  Wright  was  a  local 
preacher,  and  the  only  one  of  the  family  that  ever  was  a 
Methodist.  He  was  far  the  most  popular,  with  the  people 
of  Queen  Anne's,  of  all  of  this  family  of  Wrights.  He  was 
sent  to  the  legislature  once,  or  oftener.  It  appears  that  he 
lived  and  died  in  the  favor  of  men  and  of  his  Maker. 

During  this  year  the  Methodists  of  Thoroughfare  Neck, 
in  New  Castle  county,  Del.,  erected  a  small  chapel,  called 
Friendship.  It  was  built  of  cedar  logs  that  were  brought 
from  Jersey,  that  bid  fair  to  last  like  the  gopher  of  Noah's 
ark. 

In  November,  of  this  year,  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  received  a 
letter  from  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Pedicord*  (who  was  in  the  South, 
taking  the  oversight  of  the  work,  supplying  the  circuits,  and 
changing  the  preachers,  by  Mr.  Asbury's  direction),  request- 
ing him  to  accompany  the  Rev.  Edward  Drumgole  to  that 
part  of  North  Carolina  which  lies  to  the  north  and  west  of 
Edenton,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  new  circuit.  With 
this  request  Mr.  Lee  complied,  and  commenced  his  eventful 
career  of  itinerating.  They  arrived  in  Edenton,  and  formed 
some  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Pettigrew,  the  Church  minister, 
in  whose  church  Mr.  Drumgole  was  permitted  to  preach. 
Moving  towards  the  Dismal  Swamp,  they  crossed  the  Pas- 
quotank river,  and  held  meeting  at  Mr.  Jones's,  near  the 
Plankbridge.  They  next  reached  Brother  Halstead's,  in 
Norfolk  county,  Va.,  where  they  found  some  who  had  been 
in  society  with  the  Methodists,  and  had  enjoyed  regular  cir- 
cuit preaching  before  the  war,  which  had  driven  the  preachers 
from  them  for  the  last  five  years,  during  which  time  they  had 
waited  and  prayed  for  the  preachers  to  visit  them  again,  and 
now  their  prayer  was  answered.  They  made  another  appoint- 
ment at  the  North-west  Brick  Church.  They  then  called  on 
Col.  Williams,  in  Currituck  county — who  afterwards  became 
a  Methodist.  They  made  another  appointment  at  Indian- 
town  ;  and,  also,  at  Gen.  Gregory's,  Mr.  Sawyer's,  and 
Riverbridge.  Mr.  Drumgole  was,  also,  permitted  to  preach 
in  Yeopin  Church.  Tliey  then  went  home  with  parson  Pet- 
tigrew, and  lodged  with  him.  While  forming  this  circuit, 
Mr.  Drumgole  preached,  and  Mr.  Lee  generally  followed  him 
in  exhortation.  They  had  now  formed  the  outline  of  what 
was  called  Camden  Circuit;  and  which  appears  by  that  name 
in  the  Minutes  of  1784. 

*  In  1782,  Mr.  Pedicord  was  stationed  on   Sussex  Circuit,  in  Vir- 
ginia. 


852  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1782. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

The  names  of  the  following  twelve  brethren  appear  in  the 
Minutes   of   1782,   as    new   laborers    in    the    itinerancy : — 

George  Kimble,  James  Gibbons,  Hugh  Roberts,  Henry 
Jones,  John  Baldwin,  Woolman  Hickson,  William  Thomas, 
John  Magary,  Ira  Ellis,  John  Easter,  Thomas  Haskins,  and 
Peter  Moriarty. 

Mr.  George  Kimble  was  a  travelling  preacher  for  two 
years. 

Mr.  James  Gibbons  desisted  from  travelling  in  1784. 

Mr.  Hugh  Roberts  itinerated  during  three  years,  until 
1785. 

Mr.  Henry  Jones,  of  the  South,  continued  to  travel  and 
preach,  acceptably,  until  1788 — for  five  years. 

Mr.  John  Baldwin  labored  in  the  South  during  sixteen 
years  ;  for  several  years  he  was  travelling  book-steward  in 
Virginia  ;   he  located  in  1798. 

Mr.  Woolman  Hickson  became  an  itinerant  in  1782.  In 
the  account  given  of  Miss  Rhoda  Laws,  we  have  a  glimpse 
of  the  preacher,  and  his  usefulness  on  Somerset  Circuit — 
his  first  year.  In  1783,  he  and  John  Magary,  a  superior 
preacher,  were  in  West  Jersey.  The  next  two  years  he 
was  in  the  South.  In  1786,  in  Baltimore.  In  the  latter 
half  of  1787,  Mr.  Hickson  labored  in  New  York.  At  this 
time,  he  organized  Methodism  in  Brooklyn  ;  he  preached, 
standing  on  a  table,  in  Sands  Street.*  Mr.  Peter  Cooper 
provided  a  cooper's  shop  for  him  to  preach  in  subsequently ; 
soon,  a  class — the  first  ever  formed  in  Brooklyn — was 
organized,  and  Nicholas  Snether,  afterwards  a  famous 
preacher,  was  its  leader. 

Mr.  Hickson's  slender  frame  soon  yielded  to  consumption. 
In  New  York,  he  was  cared  for  while  he  languished.  In 
the  latter  end  of  1788,  the  Methodists,  who  had  provided  a 
nurse  for  him,  and  had  paid  her  wages,  buried  him  in  New 
York.  He  was  a  young  man  of  much  promise,  had  his 
bodily  strength  been  equal  to  his  soul. 

Mr.  William  Thomas  was  of  Kent  county,  Delaware,  near 
the   Forest,   or    Thomas's    Chapel.     He    continued   in    the 

*  Near  the  site  where  Mr.  Hickson  preached  his  first  sermon  in 
Brooklyn,  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  subsequently 
erected,  in  Sands  Street.  At  this  church  repose  the  remains  of  the 
much  admired  John  Summerfield. 


1782.]  IN   AMERICA.  353 

travelling  connection  until  1790.  This  last  year  he  stands 
on  the  Minutes  as  travelling  book-steward  for  the  Peninsula. 
After  his  location,  he  continued  to  live  near  the  chapel, 
where  we  presume  he  was  buried ;  the  time  of  his  death  is 
unknown  to  us. 

Mr.  John  Magary  was  from  England,  whither  he  returned 
in  1784.  In  September  of  this  year,  Mr.  Wesley  says,  "I 
had  a  long  conversatiou  with  John  Magary,  one  of  our 
x\merican  preachers.  He  gave  a  pleasing  account  of  the 
work  of  God  there  continually  increasing,  and  vehemently 
importuned  me  to  pay  one  more  visit  to  America  before  I 
die.  Nay,  I  shall  pay  no  more  visits  to  new  worlds  till  I  go 
to  the  world  of  spirits."  (So  Mr.  Wesley,  it  seems,  deferred 
his  visits  to  us,  till  he  could  fly  on  spirit-wings.)  In  1787, 
Mr.  Garrettson  was  informed,  by  a  letter  from  Dr.  Coke, 
that  Mr.  Wesley  had  sent  him  to  labor  in  Newfoundland ; 
but,  in  1788,  Mr.  Wesley  mentions  a  Mr.  Magary,  which 
we  take  to  be  the  same  person,  as  principal  of  Kingswood 
school.  From  these  statements,  it  seems,  that  Mr.  Magary 
was  not  only  an  interesting  preacher,  but  also  a  scholar  of 
considerable  eminence. 

Mr.  Ira  Ellis  was  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Virginia. 
Though  his  name  does  not  appear  in  the  Minutes  until  this 
year  ;  yet,  according  to  his  own  account,  he  began  to  travel 
in  March,  1781.  He  was  a  man  that  stood  very  high  in 
Mr.  Asbury's  estimation,  who  describes  him  as  "  A  man  of 
quick  and  solid  parts.  I  have  thought,  had  fortune  given 
him  the  same  advantages  of  education,  he  would  have  dis- 
played abilities  not  inferior  to  Jefferson  or  Madison.  But 
he  has  what  is  better  than  learning ;  he  has  undissembled 
sincerity,  great  modesty,  deep  fidelity,  great  ingenuity,  and 
uncommon  power  of  reasoning — a  good  man,  of  even  temper, 
and  a  good  preacher,  too."  In  1785  he  was  stationed  on 
Philadelphia  Circuit.  In  178G  on  Dover,  Del.  In  1787 
on  Kent,  Md.*     In  1788  in  Charleston,  S.  C.     In  1790, 

*  In  1787,  when  Mr.  Ellis  was  preaching  on  Kent  Circuit,  among 
others  who  became  religious,  and  joined  the  Methodists,  were  two 
young  ladies  by  the  name  of  Wilson,  whose  Christian  names  were 
xMilieent  and  Mary.  Milicent  married  a  Mr.  Taylor.  She  received 
love-feast  tickets  from  Messrs.  Jesse  Lee,  Ira  Ellis,  and  others,  which 
were  long  preserved.  A  few  years  since  she  ended  earthly  life,  in 
Philadelphia,  in  expectation  of  heavenly  existence.  Miss  Mary  Wil- 
son was  united  in  marriage  to  INIr.  Sappington,  of  Kent  county,  Md. 
Their  son,  Mr.  Samuel  Sappington,  was  baptized  by  Thornton  Fleming. 
lie  has  long  been  a  Metliodist,  and,  at  the  present  time,  is  a  member 
o"f  the  Green  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
30  * 


354  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

he  took  charge  of  the  centre  district  of  Virginia.  In  1795 
he  married,  and  located  himself  in  Brunswick,  Va. 

Mr.  John  Easter  appears  to  have  been  a  native  of  Meck- 
lenburg county,  Va.  He  was  one  of  the  most  zealous, 
powerful,  and  successful  preachers  the  Methodists  ever  had ; 
he  was  the  Benjamin  Abbott  of  the  South ;  an  uncommonly 
faithful  and  holy  man ;  and  when  crowns  are  bestowed,  his 
will  have  uncommon  lustre,  on  account  of  its  many  brilliant 
gems.  Wherever  he  labored,  and  he  labored  in  earnest,  the 
Lord  gave  him  success ;  and  in  some  places  the  work  was 
wonderful — surpassing  anything  that  had  been  previously 
witnessed.  It  seems  that  Mrs.  Tignal  Jones  of  Mecklen- 
burg, was  some  of  the  fruit  of  his  ministry,  about  the  year 
1786.  She  went  to  hear  him,  though  under  the  ban  of  her 
husband's  ire,  who  threatened  to  shoot  her  in  the  event  of  her 
going.  Her  courage  in  the  way  of  religious  duty,  resulted  in 
the  subjugation  of  her  husband's  wrathful  spirit  to  the  reign 
of  Christ,  who  cheerfully  united  with  his  pious  w^ife  in  enter- 
taining the  messengers  of  salvation,  and  in  serving  the  Lord. 
Mrs.  Jones  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  Christians  of 
the  South ;  not  only  on  account  of  the  fiery  trials  through 
which  she  passed,  but  also,  for  her  good  sense,  her  superior 
gifts,  and  her  courage  in  taking  up,  and  her  constancy  in 
sustaining,  the  cross  of  Christ. 

Brother  Easter  was  instrumental  in  one  of  the  greatest 
revivals  of  religion  that  ever  was  in  Virginia.  This  great 
work  commenced  in  1787 ;  and  on  Brunswick  Circuit,  where 
he  was  laboring,  there  was  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  converted  to  God ;  and  on  the  adjoining  circuit 
almost  as  many.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  second 
great  revival  that  took  place  among  the  Methodists  in 
America ;  the  first  was  at  the  planting  of  Methodism  in 
various  places.  The  work  in  1787  and  in  1788,  was  both 
north  and  south  of  James  river.  In  this  revival,  William 
M'Kendree  was  aw^akened  and  converted  under  John  Easter's 
preaching.  About  the  same  time,  as  this  son  of  thunder 
was  moving  on,  fulfilling  his  high  commission,  and  the 
astonished  multitudes  trembled,  and  hundreds  were  falling 
down  and  crying  "What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?"  Enoch 
George  was  awakened  and  brought  to  Christ,  under  this 
awful  messenger  of  truth. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Ware  gave  us  to  understand  that  John 
Easter  was  present  at  that  remarkable  meeting,  that  he 
describes,  pp.  165,  167  of  his  Life;  and  that  he  was  the 
preacher  that  melted   the   hard,  deistical  heart  of  General 


1782.]  IN    AMERICA.  355 

Bryan,  from  these  words  : — "  Which  none  of  the  princes  of 
this  world  knew  ;  for  had  they  known  it,  they  would  not 
have  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory."  When  he  finished  his 
discourse,  General  Bryan  addressed  the  melted  multitude, 
when  a  loud  cry  arose,  that  continued  until  the  going  down 
of  the  sun ;  and  the  religious  concern  that  followed,  sus- 
pended, for  many  weeks,  almost  all  worldly  business.  In 
General  Bryan's  family  there  were  thirty — twelve  white,  and 
eighteen  colored — that  professed  to  have  religion,  as  the 
fruit  of  this  extraordinary  quarterly  meeting,  which  was 
held  in  1790. 

After  ten  years  of  great  labor  and  success,  this  flaming 
herald  of  the  cross  located,  in  1792 ;  but  continued  the  same 
holy,  faithful  Christian,  serving  the  cause  of  Christ  as  a 
local  preacher.  The  last  notice  that  we  find  of  this  blessed 
man,  is  in  the  Life  of  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  for  the  year 
1798 : — "  At  a  meeting  at  Paup's  Chapel,  Mr.  Asbury 
preached.  Brother  Mead  began  to  sing  ;  there  was  a  general 
weeping  among  the  people.  John  Easter  cried  out,  '  I  have 
not  a  doubt  in  my  soul,  but  that  my  God  will  convert  a  soul 
here  to-day.'  Several  men  and  woman  fell  on  their  knees; 
and  the  cries  of  mourners  became  awful.  Several  found 
peace  at  this  meeting." 

It  is  related,  that  at  one  time,  when  tbis  man  of  God  was 
about  to  address  a  large  congregation  assembled  in  the  open 
air,  the  heavens  were  dark  with  clouds.  The  congregation 
became  alarmed  by  the  dismal  elements  hanging  over  them, 
and  gave  signs  of  flight,  without  staying  to  hear  the  word 
which  was  able  to  save  their  souls.  At  this  time  Mr.  Easter 
fell  on  his  knees,  before  the  congregation,  and  besought  the 
Lord  to  disperse  the  clouds,  stay  the  rain,  and  give  the 
people  to  hear  his  word  once  more.  As  in  immediate  answer 
to  His  servant's  prayer,  the  cloud  parted  over  the  multi- 
tude, part  drifting  one  way  and  part  another,  and  the  word 
was  preached  with  great  effect  that  day. 

Ossian  might  have  said  of  him — "  This  herald  of  salvation 
was  in  his  day  like  a  pillar  of  fire,  that  beamed  on  sin- 
darkened  souls ;  to  weary,  wandering  pilgrims  as  the  beams 
of  heaven  to  point  to  God.  He  saw  the  tall  sons  of  Anak 
fall  before  the  bolts  of  Sinai,  as  the  thistle's  head  before 
autumnal  blasts.  Clothed  with  the  beauty  of  holiness,  like  a 
robe  of  beams,  he  stood  firm  on  the  field  of  foes ;  when 
Satan's  hosts  gathered  around,  his  soul  darkened  not  with 
fear ;  but  through  faith,  he  saw  his  enemies  vanish  like 
melting  mist.     Armed  with  celestial  panoply,  there  was  no 


856  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

cause  to  dread  death's  shadowy  mace ;  and,  although  his 
grave  may  be  unmarked  by  a  flower  or  a  stone,  yet,  the 
dwelling  of  his  soul  is  calm  above  the  clouds,  and  the  fields 
of  its  rest  are  pleasant ;  and  his  body  shall  come  from  the 
deep  sleep  of  the  narrow  tomb  with  songs  and  rejoicing." 

Mr.  Thomas  Haskins  was  a  native  of  Caroline  county,  in 
Maryland,  born  in  1760.  He  received  an  education,  and 
was  reading  law  in  Dover,  Delaware,  where  he  became  a 
Methodist  in  1780 ;  and,  two  years  after,  he  began  to  travel 
on  the  Baltimore  Circuit.  In  1783  he  was  on  Chester 
Circuit,  which  embraced,  at  that  time,  Philadelphia,  and  all 
the  preaching  places  in  Pennsylvania,  east  of  the  Susque- 
hanna river.  In  1784,  we  find  him  in  charge  of  Somerset 
Circuit.  In  1785,  in  charge  of  Talbot ;  and  in  1786,  he 
located.  While  travelling  Chester  Circuit,  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Miss  Martha  Potts,  granddaughter  of  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Grace,  of  Coventry,  a  pious  young  lady,  whom  he 
married.  He  had  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  Colonel 
North,  a  native  of  Coventry.  After  he  married  he  settled 
in  Philadelphia,  where  he  and  Colonel  North  engaged  in  the 
wholesale  grocery  business  in  Water  street.  For  some 
fifteen  years  he  was  a  local  preacher  at  St.  George's  Church. 
In  the  year  1797,  he  lost  his  first  wife,  who  died  in  the 
enjoyment  of  Christian  hope,  and  was  interred  in  the  rear 
of  St.  George's,  where  the  tablet  to  her  memory  may  still  be 
read. 

About  the  year  1800,  a  number  of  the  prominent  members 
of  St.  George's  went  off,  and  Mr.  Haskins  among  them,  and 
bought  the  south  end  of  the  Academy  built  by  Mr.  Whitefield 
in  Fourth  street,  and  organized  and  established  what  has 
since  been  known  as  the  Union  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Here  Mr.  Haskins  continued  to  act  as  a  local  preacher. 
His  second  wife  was  a  ladyof  New  Jersey,  Elizabeth  Richards 
by  name. 

About  the  year  1811,  a  number  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  Academy  in  Fourth  street,  and  Mr.  Haskins  among 
them,  engaged  in  erecting  a  Methodist  church  in  Tenth 
street,  below  Market,  which  they  called  St.  Thomas's  Church. 
As  Mr.  Haskins,  as  a  business  man  of  Philadelphia,  was 
somewhat  favorably  known  to  Stephen  Girard,  he,  in  com- 
pany with  a  friend,  called  on  Mr.  Girard  for  a  donation.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  last-named  individual  had  no  partiality 
for  churches ;  yet,  on  the  ground  that  the  house  they  were 
building  would  improve  the  city,  he  contributed  five  hundred 
dollars ;  the  only  money  that  we  ever  heard  of,  as  coming 


1782.]  IN    AMERICA.  357 

from  him,  that  helped  to  build  a  church.  About  the  same 
time,  Dr.  Staughton  was  erecting  the  Sansom  street  Baptist 
Church ;  and,  having  heard  of  the  success  of  the  Methodists 
with  Stephen,  he  concluded  to  try  him  for  a  gift.  Where- 
upon Mr.  Girard  filled  up  a  check  for  about  half  the  amount 
that  he  had  given  toward  St.  Thomas's.  When  the  Doctor 
read  the  check,  he  remarked,  "  Mr.  Girard,  you  gave  the 
Methodists  so  many  hundred  dollars  ;  how  is  it  that  you  give 
me  only  about  half  that  sum  ?"  To  which  Stephen  responded, 
"  Let  me  see  the  check  again."  It  was  handed  back  to  him 
with  a  hope  that  he  would  double  the  sum.  Whereupon  he 
tore  it  to  pieces,  saying  in  broken  English,  "  If  you  be  not 
contented  wid  dat,  den  me  gib  you  noting." 

An  opinion  prevailed  among  the  poorer  members  of  the 
Academy  congregation,  that  St.  Thomas's  church  was  built  to 
accommodate  a  few  wealthy  Methodist  families,  and  they 
refused  to  attend  it.  Its  friends  did  not  succeed  in  raising  a 
congregation ;  and,  after  a  few  years,  it  was  sold,  and  the 
Protestant  Episcopalians  bought  it ;  and  having  remodelled 
and  greatly  improved  its  appearance,  it  is  now  known  as 
St.  Stephen's  Church. 

In  1816,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Haskins  yielded  to  the  stern 
decree,  "  Unto  dust  shalt  thou  return,"  aged  fifty-six  years. 
The  marble  slab  that  covers  his  remains  is  in  the  rear  of  the 
Union  M.  E.  Church  in  Fourth  street,  Philadelphia.  His 
widow  survived  him  for  forty  years.  Her  last  years  were 
spent  in  New  York,  where  she  died.  Her  obituary  was 
written  by  her  old  friend  Dr.  Holdich,  and  published  in  the 
Advocate.  The  remains  of  her  husband  have  been  removed 
from  the  Union  Church,  to  repose  with  the  rest  of  the  family 
in  a  cemetery  at  New  York. 

Mr.  Peter  Moriarty  was  born  in  Baltimore  county,  Md., 
in  1758.  His  parents  were  Papists,  and  raised  him  in  that 
faith.  When  sixteen  years  old  the  Methodists  came  into 
his  neighborhood,  in  1774,  and  made  a  great  stir.  His 
parents  and  his  priest  warned  him  not  to  go  near  them.  At 
length  Providence  opened  a  way  for  him  to  hear  them. 
They  seemed  to  him  more  like  angels  than  men,  yet  he 
concluded  they  could  not  be  right,  as  they  preached  that 
men  must  know  their  sins  forgiven  in  this  life,  in  order  to  be 
happy  here  and  hereafter.  He  continued  to  hear  them  until 
his  eyes  were  opened  to  see  that  his  confessions  to  the  priest 
were  delusions,  and  that  he  was  in  the  way  to  hell.  It  was 
then  said  by  priest  and  people  that  the  Methodists  had  made 
him  mad.      His  father  threatened  to  turn  him  out  of  his 


358  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1782. 

house,  if  he  did  not  cease  weeping  and  wailing  on  account 
of  his  sins.  He  continued  to  read  his  Bible ;  and  in  the 
hght  he  had,  to  seek  the  Lord  until  he  found  -peace,  and 
knew  that  he  was  reconciled  to  God.  He  then  united  with 
the  Methodists.  Soon  after  he  began  to  be  exercised  about 
calling  sinners  to  repentance.  In  1781,  he  gave  himself  up 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry;  and  in  1782  his  name  appeared 
in  the  Minutes.  His  first  travels  were  in  the  bounds  of  the 
Virginia  Conference.  Since  1787,  he  labored  in  the  New 
York  Conference.  He  was  plain  in  dress,  in  manners,  and 
plain  and  pointed  in  preaching ;  and  was  ranked  among  the 
useful  of  his  day.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1814,  he  was 
acting  as  presiding  elder.  On  one  of  his  circuits  the 
Methodists  had  met  for  quarterly  meeting ;  but,  instead  of 
seeing  their  elder  in  the  pulpit,  they  beheld  him  in  his  coffin. 
He  died  in  bed ;  the  precise  time  was  unknown  to  his  family. 
His  corpse  was  brought  to  the  quarterly  meeting,  where  a 
funeral  discourse  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Crawford. 
He  had  been  a  travelling  preacher  thirty-two  years,  and  was 
fifty-six  years  old. 

He  had  a  son  who  was  a  local  preacher  among  the 
Methodists ;  and  kept  a  house  of  accommodation  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  where  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing  a  Meth- 
odist church. 

Mr.  Asbury  passed  the  Avinter  of  1782  and  1783  in  the 
South.  He  remarked,  in  passing  through  Williamsburg, 
"  This  place  was  formerly  the  seat  of  government,  but  now 
Richmond  is  the  seat  of  government.  The  worldly  glory  of 
Williamsburg  is  departed,  and  it  never  had  any  divine  glory." 
Seeing  the  havoc  that  war  had  made  about  Suffolk,  he 
exclaimed,  "  Alas  for  these  Oliverian  times;  most  of  the  houses 
here,  except  the  church,  are  destroyed."  This  was  the  work 
of  Arnold  the  traitor,  who  sold  himself  and  his  country  for 
ten  thousand  pounds  of  British  gold. 

Some  parts  of  North  Carolina  had  just  been  settled,  and 
it  had  lately  passed  through  the  ravages  of  war.  There  was 
«  much  poverty  and  privation  endured  by  the  people,  and 
Methodist  preachers  had  to  sympathize  with  them.  Mr. 
Asbury  observed,  "  In  some  places  there  was  no  fodder  for 
our  horses — no  supper  for  us — no  family  prayer."  It  was 
so  difficult  to  obtain  food  for  man  and  beast,  that  he  was, 
sometimes,  glad  to  find  one  meal  in  twenty-four  hours.  In 
this  state  of  things  the  Lord  was  carrying  on  a  glorious  work 
among  the  people.  At  one  place  a  child  ten  years  old  found 
the  Lord  in  a  gust  of  lightning  and  thunder,  and  straightway 


1782-3.]  IN   AMERICA.  359 

preached  to  all  the  family.  A  poor  backslider  who  was 
present  was  cut  to  the  heart,  and  warned  all  present  to 
beware  of  the  doctrine  that  there  was  no  falling  from  grace, 
which  had  been  the  cause  of  his  fall. 

The  greatest  prosperity  during  the  past  year  had  been  in 
North  Carolina,  where  five  or  six  new  circuits  had  been 
formed ;  and  where  there  was  an  increase  of  nearly  one 
thousand.  The  increase  in  the  connection  was  1955.  The 
whole  number  of  Methodists  was  13,740.  Of  this  number 
1623  were  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  and  12,117 
south  of  it. 

About  this  time  the  people  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
were  calling  to  the  Methodist  preachers  to  come  among 
them.  Two  years  afterwards  these  states  were  taken  into 
the  general  work. 


CHAPTER  LV. 


The  longest  preaching  tour  that  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Abbott 
made,  while  he  was  a  local  preacher,  was  in  New  Jersey,  and 
is  to  l3e  found  described  in  his  Life,  pp.  66-80.  It  was  made 
in  the  cold  season  of  the  year,  as  he  speaks  of  snow  and  hail 
being  on  the  ground.  It  was  about  nine  years  before  he 
travelled  Salem  Circuit,  in  1792  :  as  he  told  Bishop  Asbury 
that  it  had  been  about  nine  years  since  he  was  round  the 
Salem  Circuit  to  see  his  children  in  the  gospel  (referring,  as 
we  understand  him,  to  this  tour),  and  that  he  desired  to  go 
there.  (See  his  Life,  p.  194.)  It  was  before  the  military 
forces  of  the  L^nited  States  were  disbanded :  as  he  tells  us 
there  came  up  the  river  (Maurice)  a  look-out  boat  with  its 
crew.  (Provisional  articles  of  peace  between  the  two  coun- 
tries were  signed  in  November,  1782.  The  definitive  treaty 
was  signed  in  September,  1783.  A  formal  proclamation  of 
cessation  of  hostilities  was  made  through  the  army  in, April, 
1783.  New  York  was  evacuated  in  November,  1783 ;  and 
on  the  3d  of  November,  1783,  the  army  of  the  United  States 
was  disbanded  by  order  of  Congress.)  Most  of  the  appoint- 
ments which  he  visited  were  made  in  1780,  and  subse([uent 
to  that  year.  From  the  above  data  we  place  this  tour  in  the 
beginning  of  1783. 

He  commenced  it  by  attending  a  quarterly  meeting  at 
Maurice's    river,    where    "  the    slain    lay    all    through    the 


360  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

house,  and  round  it,  and  in  the  woods,  crying  to  God  for 
mercy ;  and  others  were  praising  God  for  deliverance."  The 
crew  of  the  look-out  boat  came  to  the  meeting.  "  One 
of  them  stood  by  a  woman  that  lay  on  the  ground  crying  to 
God  for  mercy,  and  said  to  her,  '  Why  do  you  not  cry 
louder?'  She  immediately  began  to  pray  for  him;  and  he 
was  struck  to  the  ground,  and  lay  and  cried  louder  for  mercy 
than  the  woman.  This  meeting  continued  from  eleven  of  the 
clock  till  night."  The  number  converted  or  sanctified  he 
did  not  ascertain.  Next  day  he  preached  at  Brother  Golf's 
(or  Gaugh's),  and  had  a  precious  time.  At  his  third  meeting 
there  was  great  power:  many  tears  were  shed,  and  one  pro- 
fessed conversion. 

His  fourth  appointment  was  at  Brother  Peter  Creassy's, 
in  Cape  May  county,  where  "  the  Lord  made  bare  his  arm 
of  power,  and  many  fell  to  the  floor.  Their  cries  were  very 
great.  The  sinners  sprang  to  the  doors,  falling  one  o\^r 
another  in  getting  out ;  five  jumped  out  at  a  window.  One 
woman  went  close  by  me  and  cried,  'You  are  a  devil !'  A 
young  man  cried  out,  'Command  the  peace!'  But  the 
magistrate  (Brother  Creassy)  answered,  '  It  is  the  power  of 
God.'  Another,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  entreated  the  people 
to  hold  their  peace ;  an  old  woman  replied,  '  They  cannot 
hold  their  peace  unless  you  cut  out  their  tongues.  This  day 
will  not  be  forgotten  in  time  or  eternity  !  Glory  to  God  !'  I 
was  as  happy  as  I  could  be  to  contain  myself."  Brother 
Creassy  told  him  that  his  stormy  meeting  would  frighten  the 
people  away  from  his  next  meeting ;  but  it  had  a  contrary 
effect ;  for  at  his  fifth  appointment  he  had  a  crowd ;  and 
some  cried  out  under  the  Avord.  Being  w^armly  attacked  by 
a  Baptist,  he  gained  the  day  by  wielding  the  Scriptures. 

His  sixth  appointment  was  at  Mr.  Wolsey's  (or  Wolson's), 
where  many  were  much  wrought  upon,  and  many  tears  were 
shed.  He  announced  that  on  the  morrow  he  would  preach 
on  the  words  of  the  devil.  That  night,  fearing  that  he  would 
not  be  able  to  raise  a  discourse  from  the  words  of  the  devil, 
sleep  departed  from  him.  After  a  restless  night,  on  his  way 
to  his  seventh  appointm.ent,  he  found  the  road  crowded  with 
people,  curious  to  hear  a  discourse  from  a  text  furnished  by 
the  devil.  There  were  many  more  than  could  get  in  the 
house.  After  retirino;  to  the  woods,  where  he  besouo;ht  the 
Lord  to  aid  him  in  delivering  his  word  that  day,  he  sung, 
prayed,  and  read  for  his  text.  Matt.  iv.  8,  9  :  "  Such  light 
broke  into  my  soul,  on  giving  out  the  text,  that  I  was 
enabled  to  preach  with  great  liberty ;  many   were  cut  to 


1783.]  IN    AMERICA.  361 

the  heart  and  wept  all  through  the  house.'  At  his  eighth 
appointment  at.  N.  C.'s,  his  meeting  was  broken  up  by  a 
house  taking  fire,  near  by,  and  burning  down. 

He  filled  his  ninth  appointment  at  Mr.  Smith's,  on  Tucka- 
hoe  river.  Great  power  attended  the  word :  one  fell  to  the 
floor.  The  people  stood  amazed  while  she  lay  struggling  on 
the  floor.  She  arose  after  a  while  and  praised  God  with  a 
loud  voice,  declaring  that  God  had  sanctified  her  soul.  "  In 
meeting  the  society  I  pressed  sanctification  on  them.  God 
struck  a  woman  to  the  floor  who,  after  some  time,  rose  up 
and  declared  that  God  had  given  her  a  clean  heart.  While 
she  was  speaking,  six  or  seven  fell  to  the  floor.  I  then 
opened  the  doors  and  windows,  and  desired  the  wicked  to 
come  and  see  the  mighty  power  of  God.  Six  or  seven  pro- 
fessed sanctification  at  this  meeting,  one  of  whom  was  Mrs. 
Brick,  who  was  justified  only  eight  days  before." 

His  tenth  appointment  was  at  Justice  Champion's,  where 
he  preached  with  great  liberty.  "  This  meeting  began  at 
eleven  of  the  clock,  and  lasted  until  about  the  middle  of  the 
night.  Seven  professed  to  find  peace  with  God,  and  joined 
society.  Here  I  was  as  happy  as  I  could  wish,  either  to 
live  or  to  die."  He  preached  next  day  at  his  eleventh 
appointment  at  "  Brother  Hews's,  to  a  precious  loving  people." 
His  twelfth  appointment  appears  to  have  been  about  Egg 
Harbor.  He  had  great  liberty  in  preaching.  There  was 
much  weeping.  There  was  present  a  Baptist  who  had  been 
an  enemy  to  the  doctrinal  views  of  the  Methodists,  also  to 
experimental  religion,  who  was  convinced,  and  exhorted  the 
people  to  believe  what  they  had  then  heard. 

His  thirteenth  appointment  was  at  Wiretown,  where  he 
preached  on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral  of  a  woman.  While 
speaking,  a  Baptist  woman  rose  up  and  said,  "  I  have  come 
twenty  miles  through  the  snow  to  hear  you.  I  was  standing 
on  the  hearth  with  my  husband  and  two  children,  and 
thought  the  hearth  opened  and  I  saw  hell  from  beneath,  and 
devils  ready  to  receive  me.  I  started  and  ran  into  the  room 
and  fell  on  the  floor,  and  cried  mightily  to  God  to  have 
mercy  on  my  soul.  I  continued  in  prayer  until  the  house 
was  filled  with  the  glory  of  God  brighter  than  the  sun  at 
noonday.  I  then  rose  and  sat  on  the  foot  of  the  bed,  wish- 
ing for  my  husband,  who  had  gone  for  the  cattle,  to  return. 
When  he  came  I  ran  out  of  the  house  and  clasped  him  round 
the  neck,  and  told  him  what  God  had  done  for  ray  soul.  The 
power  of  the  Lord  came  on  me  again,  as  it  had  done  in  the 
house,  and  I  cried  out  in  such  a  manner  that  it  frightened 
31 


362  RISE   or   METHODISM  [1783. 

my  husband  and  the  cattle,  causing  them  to  run  off;  and 
also  my  husband.  I  went  to  the  house  happy  in  God.  Our 
people  (the  Baptists)  say  it  is  delusion ;  that  God  does  not 
manifest  himself  to  people,  in  these  days,  in  this  way.  I 
feel  the  same  power  on  me  now."  She  then  asked  Mr. 
Abbott's  opinion  of  her  case,  who  assured  her  that  she  was 
truly  converted  to  God.  She  laid  hold  by  faith,  and  waa 
delivered  from  doubt  and  uncertainty  as  to  her  religious 
state.  She  followed  him  next  day  to  his  fourteenth  appoint- 
ment, which  was  at  Goodluck,  where  he  preached  with  great 
liberty ;  and  great  power  attended  the  word.  He  was  now 
in  Monmouth  county. 

He  next  went,  through  a  hailstorm,  to  Justice  Aiken's, 
on  Tom's  river,  where  he  gave  an  exhortation  to  the  few  that 
were  present,  and  tarried  all  night.  Next  day  he  went  to 
his  sixteenth  appointment,  where  he  had  an  attentive  con- 
gregation and  a  powerful  meeting  :  a  Frenchman  fell  to  the 
floor,  and  never  rose  from  it  until  the  Lord  converted  his 
soul.  It  was  a  happy  meeting  to  nearly  all  that  were 
present. 

His  seventeenth  appointment  was  at  the  house  of  a 
Baptist,  who  objected  to  his  preaching  in  his  house  on  ac- 
count of  a  piece  published  by  one  of  the  Methodist  preachers 
on  baptism.  His  friend  James  Sterling  had  met  him  here, 
and  reasoned  with  the  man  of  the  house  until  he  consented 
for  Mr.  Abbott  to  preach.  Great  power  attended  the  word  : 
the  people,  all  through  the  house,  were  weeping ;  and  the 
man  of  the  house  trembled  like  Belshazzar,  and  desired  him 
to  preach  there  again  that  evening,  which  he  did. 

His  eighteenth  appointment  was  at  Mr.  W.'s.  Having 
retired  into  secret,  the  power  of  God  came  on  him  so  remark- 
ably that  he  lost  his  bodily  power,  and  the  awful  cry  which 
he  made  alarmed  the  people,  who  came  to  him  in  amaze- 
ment, having  never  witnessed  the  like  before.  As  soon  as 
he  recovered  he  preached  to  them,  and  the  meeting  was  very 
profitable. 

He  next  started  for  quarterly  meeting,  stopping  to  get 
his  horse's  shoes  fixed.  While  this  was  being  done,  he  went  to 
a  house  near  by,  where  he  found  an  elderly  woman  spinning, 
and  asked  her  to  give  him  a  drink  of  water,  which  she  did. 
He  then,  in  return  for  the  water  that  is  folloAved  by  thirst, 
offered  her  the  water  of  life,  whereof  one  may  drink  and 
not  thirst ;  and  left  her  after  he  had  prayed  for  her.  Three 
years  after  this,  as  he  was  going  to  a  quarterly  meeting,  he 
fell  in  with  some  twenty  on  their  way  to  the  same  meeting. 


1783.]  IN    AMERICA.  863 

One  of  the  company,  a  woman,  ran  to  him  and  saluted  him 
as  her  father,  reminding  him  of  the  time  when  he  asked 
her  for  the  water,  and  set  the  plan  of  salvation  before  her, 
and  prayed  for  her  salvation.  At  that  time  God  made  his 
counsel  a  "nail  in  a  sure  place."  Feeling  herself  to  be  a 
lost  sinner,  she  cried  unceasingly  to  God  for  his  mercy  until 
he  set  her  soul  at  liberty.  Sow  thy  seed  in  the  morning, 
and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine  hand,  for  thou  knowest 
not  whether  shall  prosper. 

"  At  quarterly  meeting  we  opened  our  love-feast  with 
prayer,  and  the  Lord  made  bare  his  arm ;  some  fell  to  the 
floor  and  others  ran  away.  Such  a  time  they  never  had  seen 
before.  (They  never  had  Mr.  Abbott  with  them  before.)  I. 
W.  exhorted  the  mourners  very  powerfully,  having  been 
himself  converted  only  the  night  before.  The  old  lady,  his 
mother,  was  very  happy.  When  I  was  about  to  go  she  put 
two  dollars  into  my  hand.  This  was  the  first  money  I  had 
ever  received  because  I  was  a  preacher.  But  He  that  is 
mindful  of  the  young  ravens  was  mindful  of  me.  When  I 
received  this  I  had  but  fifteen  pence  in  my  pocket ;  and  was 
above  two  hundred  miles  (if  not  in  a  straight  direction,  yet 
in  the  circuit  he  had  travelled)  from  home." 

The  twentieth  place  that  he  visited  and  preached  at  was  in 
a  Baptist  settlement.  "  Two  fell,  and  never  ceased  crying 
to  God  for  mercy  until  he  set  their  souls  at  liberty ;  many 
were  deeply  affected,  and  some  were  fully  awakened."  He 
went  home  with  Mr.  Bray,  a  Baptist.  On  their  way  to  his 
bouse,  they  stopped  at  a  place  where  he  found  a  number  of 
persons  who  had  heard  him  preach,  and  were  much  aff'ected: 
he  prayed  with  them,  and  gave  them  an  exhortation ;  and 
then  went  to  Mr.  Bray's,  where  he  found  about  forty  people 
assembled  together.  Here  he  related  what  he  had  seen  of 
the  Avonderful  work  of  God  in  the  land : — souls  converted, 
souls  sanctified,  drunkards  become  sober  men,  &c.  "  One  of 
the  young  men  present  said,  '  It  beats  all  the  preaching  I 
ever  heard  of  since  I  was  born,  and  if  there  is  such  a  God 
as  you  speak  of,  I  am  determined  to  find  him  before  morn- 
ing.' I  then  exhorted  him,  telling  him,  if  he  sought  he 
would  find.  He  went  home,  retired  to  his  barn,  where  he  con- 
tinued all  night  in  prayer, — sometimes  on  his  knees,  and  some- 
times on  his  face.  Next  morning,  when  the  sun  was  up,  the 
Sun  of  rigiiteousness  shone  upon  him  in  pardon  and  peace. 
'Now,'  said  he,  'are  these  (Methodists)  the  people  we  used 
to  call  deceivers  and  false  teachers  ?  0  that  God  would 
convert  another  soul,  that  there  might  be  two  witnesses  for 


364  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

Jesus  to-daj ;  that  out  of  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  every 
word  might  be  established  !'  As  he  was  on  his  way  to  meeting 
he  met  with  nine  or  ten  others ;  just  as  they  turned  the 
corner  of  the  house  to  go  in,  a  young  man  fell  to  the  ground, 
and  never  ceased  crying  to  God  until  he  spoke  peace  to  his 
soul.  They  then  came  into  the  house,  and  the  first  one  began 
to  exhort  the  people,  bathed  in  tears,  telling  them  that  they 
had  called  these  people  anti-christians ;  but  that  he  knew 
they  were  the  servants  of  the  living  God, — exhorting  them 
to  believe.  After  him  arose  the  other  who  had  just  found 
peace  at  the  door,  and  began  to  tell  what  God  had  done  for 
his  soul,  exhorting  them  likewise  to  believe,  while  tears  flowed 
from  many  eyes."  It  was  very  opportune  that  God  had 
raised  up  these  two  young  preachers  to  speak  for  him  at 
Mr.  Abbott's  twenty-first  appointment,  as  he  had  taken  such 
^  cold  that  he  could  not  speak  above  a  whisper. 

Next  day,  at  his  twenty-second  appointment,  his  cold  had 
greatly  increased.  He  felt  that  he  could  not  properly  preach ; 
and,  as  he  says,  "  only  whispered  them  an  exhortation."  He 
was  now  in  Burlington  county.  The  ground  he  had  travelled 
over  in  Cumberland,  Cape  May,  the  east  end  of  Gloucester, 
and  Monmouth  counties,  was  new  to  him.  The  appointments 
he  had  never  been  at  before ;  and  most  of  the  people  that 
he  had  seen  were  stranc!;e  to  him ;  but  he  is  now  amon/^  his 
old  friends.  His  twenty-third  appointment  was  at  Brother 
Fidler's,  where  he  preached,  and  had  a  precious  time  with 
the  little  society.  "  A  few  days  after,  I  went  to  Trenton. 
I  began  to  preach  at  candle-light  to  a  large  congregation, 
which  caused  the  devil  to  roar.  His  children  in  the  street 
cried,  '  Fire  !  fire  !'  This  alarmed  the  people,  and  broke  up 
the  meeting. 

''  Next  morning,  I  set  out  for  quarterly  meeting  at  New 
Mills.  After  our  meeting  had  been  opened,  and  several  ex- 
hortations given.  Brother  C.  Cotts  (of  Trenton)  went  to 
prayer,  and  several  fell  to  the  floor,  and  many  were  affected, 
and  we  had  a  powerful  time.  After  meeting,  Brother  James 
Sterling,  and  several  others,  went  with  me  to  John  Budd's. 
Here  we  found  a  woman  in  distress  of  soul.  In  the  morn- 
ing. Brother  Sterling  went  to  prayer;  after  him  I  prayed. 
The  distressed  woman  lay  as  in  the  agonies  of  death  near  one 
hour ;  she  then  went  into  her  room  to  pray,  and  soon  after 
returned  professing  faith  in  Christ.  She  and  her  husband 
went  with  us  to  Brother  H.'s  (probably  Brother  Heisler's), 
where  about  forty  persons  had  assembled,  waiting  for  us 
to  pray  together  before  we  parted.     As  soon  as  I  entered 


1788.]  IN    AMERICA.  365 

the  house,  a  woman  entreated  me  to  pray  for  her,  saying,  '  I 
am  going  to  liell,  I  have  no  God.'  I  exhorted  her,  and  all 
present.  Then  a  young  woman  came  to  me,  saying,  '  Father 
Abbott,  pray  to  God  that  he  may  give  me  a  clean  heart.* 
I  replied,  '  God  shall  give  you  one  this  moment.'  She  drop- 
ped into  my  arms  as  one  dead.  I  then  claimed  the  promises, 
and  cried,  exhorting  them  all  to  look  to  God  for  pure  hearts; 
at  this  time  about  twenty  more  fell  to  the  floor.  AVhen  the 
young  woman  came  to,  she  declared  that  God  had  sanctified 
her  soul.  I  saw  her  many  years  after,  and  her  life  and  con- 
versation adorned  the  gospel.  Prayer  was  kept  up  without 
intermission  for  the  space  of  three  hours ;  eight  souls  pro- 
fessed sanctification,  and  three  Indian  women  justification, 
at  this  meeting:  the  slain  lay  all  through  the  house  like 
dead  men."  This  social  prayer-meeting,  held  early  in  the 
morning,  was  the  corollary  of  the  quarterly  meeting. 

"  My  next  appointment  was  at  Jesse  Chew's,  on  Mantua 
Creek,  about  forty  miles  distance,  and  it  was  eleven  of  the 
clock  before  we  could  leave  Brother  H.'s.  We  stopped  at 
Moorestown  and  refreshed  ourselves,  and  then  pushed  on  to 
reach  the  appointment  at  early  candle-lighting.  Being  rather 
late,  they  had  begun  to  sing  before  we  arrived.  I  preached, 
and  we  had  a  melting  time.  After  meeting  in  family  wor- 
ship, two  or  three  went  to  prayer.  The  mighty  power  of  God 
struck  a  young  woman  to  the  floor,  where  she  screamed  and 
rolled  as  one  in  torment.  Her  mother  ran  to  take  her  away. 
I  desired  her  father  not  to  suff*er  her  to  be  removed.  (It 
appears  that  she  was  Brother  Chew's  daughter.)  Prayer 
was  kept  up  all  night  without  intermission.  She  continued 
her  cries  until  the  sun  was  an  hour  high  next  morning,  by 
which  time  the  house  was  filled  with  the  neighbors,  and  the 
Lord  spoke  peace  to  her  soul.  A  young  man  came  in,  and 
Brother  F.  S.  (most  likely  this  was  Francis  Spry,  who  was 
preaching  in  Jersey  in  1783)  took  him  by  the  hand  and  said, 
'  Brother  C.  had  a  daughter  converted  this  morning,  and  she 
wants  to  speak  with  you;'  he  led  him  to  her;  she  took  him 
by  the  hand,  and  exhorted  him  with  tears ;  he  began  to 
tremble  and  cry  in  an  awful  manner,  and  in  a  few  days  he 
found  peace  with  God.  There  came  in  also  an  elderly  man, 
and  Brother  F.  S.  took  him,  in  like  manner,  to  her,  and  she 
began  to  warn  and  exhort  him,  while  he  trembled,  and  his  tears 
flowed  in  abundance.  She  then  said  that  God  had  called 
her  to  go  from  house  to  house,  to  warn  her  neighbors  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  Several  of  our  friends  tarried  and 
went  with  her  for  three  days  through  the  neighborhood." 
31* 


366  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1783. 

In  this  tour  of  six  weeks,  Mr.  Abbott  had  passed  through 
Cumberland,  Cape  May,  Gloucester,  Monmouth,  Mercer,  and 
Burlington  counties ;  and  returned  home  through  the  west 
end  of  Gloucester  to  Penn's  Neck,  in  Salem  county,  where 
he  lived.  lie  had  travelled  about  four  hundred  miles.  He 
had  preached  at  most  of  the  appointments  that  the  Method- 
ists then  had  in  West  Jersey.  He  records  some  twenty-six 
meetings  that  he  was  at;  and  we  do  not  suppose  that  he  has 
named  them  all.  He  was  at  two  quarterly  meetings.  He 
heard  about  a  score  declare  that  God  had  cleansed  them  from 
all  unrighteousness,  and  almost  double  that  number  had  pro- 
fessed to  receive  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 

The  following  description  of  the  power  of  Mr.  Abbott's  faith, 
from  an  eye  witness,  is  highly  interesting :  "  At  one  time,  when 
the  meeting  was  held  in  the  woods,  after  F.  Garrettson  had 
preached,  Mr.  Abbott  got  up;  and,  looking  round  on  the  con- 
gregation very  significantly,  said,  '  Lord,  begin  the  work ; 
Lord,  begin  the  work  now ;  Lord,  begin  the  work  just  there:* 
at  the  same  time  pointing  his  finger  to  a  man  that  stood  beside 
a  tree ;  and  the  man  fell  immediately  as  if  he  had  been  shot, 
and  cried  aloud  for  mercy."  This  account  is  taken  from  an 
account  of  the  death  of  Job  Throckmorton,  of  Freehold, 
N.  J.,  who  was  awakened  under  Richard  Garrettson  in  1780. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 


About  this  time  there  was  a  great  work  going  on  in  Lower 
Penn's  Neck,  described  in  Abbott's  Life,  pp.  84-89.  His 
preaching  at  first  took  no  effect  on  the  people.  In  the  spring 
of  1781,  Messrs.  Pedicord  and  Metcalf,  the  former  appointed 
to  West  Jersey,  and  the  latter  to  East  Jersey,  came  to  his 
house;  he  related  to  them  the  hard-heartedness  of  the  people; 
this  so  afi'ected  them  that  they  could  eat  no  breakfast,  but 
retired  up  stairs  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Lord ;  where 
they  continued  fasting  and  praying  until  one  or  two  o'clock; 
when  they  came  down.  Brother  Pedicord,  having  obtained 
an  encouraging  answer  from  God,  said,  "  Father  Abbott,  do 
not  be  discouraged;  these  people  will  yet  hunger  and  thirst 
after  the  word  of  God."  Soon  after,  Isaac  Holladay,  of 
Lower  Penn's  Neck,  opened  his  house  for  Methodist  preach- 
ing.   This  appears  to  have  been  in  1782,  when  Messrs.  Dud- 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  367 

ley  and  Ivy  travelled  West  Jersey.  Others  opened  their 
houses  for  the  Word  of  God,  and  soon  a  work  commenced. 
It  appears  that  it  began  in  earnest  on  the  day  that  Mr. 
Abbott  preached  on  the  *'  Mystery  -which  had  been  hid  for 
ages,"  &c.  Many  came  out,  supposing  that  he  was  going  to 
prophesy;  and  would  show  how  the  war  would  terminate. 
Under  the  discourse  a  professing  Quaker,  his  wife,  son,  and 
daughter  were  all  awakened  ;  and  afterAvards  became  Method- 
ists. Soon  after,  the  son  died  in  triumph.  The  father  was 
taken  ill  at  his  son's  funeral,  and  followed  him  to  glory, 
praising  God.  By  this  time  there  was  a  general  alarm  spread 
through  the  neighborhood,  and  prayer-meetings  were  held 
two  or  three  times  a  week  ;  and  some  were  convicted  or  con- 
verted at  almost  every  meeting.  A  young  man  came  to  the 
house  of  Father  Abbott  in  great  distress.  Mr.  Abbott,  his 
wife,  and  his  daughter  Martha,  all  offered  up  prayer ;  and 
the  young  man  found  peace  to  his  soul  in  that  family  meet- 
ing. He  joined  society;  and,  after  several  years,  died  clap- 
ping his  hands,  and  shouting  glory  to  God. 

It  seems  to  have  been  in  this  year  that  Mr.  Abbott  took 
his  reapers  out  of  his  field  to  attend  the  circuit  preachers' 
meeting,  paying  them  for  the  time  they  spent  in  worship  as 
well  as  for  the  time  they  spent  at  work :  this  was  a  day  of 
power,  "  several  fell  to  the  floor,  and  two  found  peace."  For 
about  two  months  he  continued  to  preach  to  the  people  on 
Sabbath  days  under  the  trees,  as  the  house  would  not  contain 
the  people  that  came ;  and  at  every  meeting  the  power  of 
the  Lord  was  present  to  heal :  the  people  were  now  "hunger- 
ing and  thirsting  for  the  word  of  God,"  as  Mr.  Pedicord 
had  said.  "  One  day  the  power  of  the  Lord  laid  hold  of  a 
Quaker  woman  as  she  was  about  to  escape,  and  she  fell  on 
her  hands  and  knees.  Some  of  her  friends  helped  her  up, 
got  her  into  a  wagon  and  carried  her  off;  but  it  took  them  two 
weeks  to  kill  her  convictions."  At  this  time  Mr.  Abbott  had 
twelve  children  converted  to  God.  One  of  the  sisters,  belong- 
ing to  the  society,  in  her  exercises  for  holiness,  got  out  of  her 
bed  one  night,  and  on  her  knees  wrestled  with  God  for  the 
blessing.  Her  mother  came  to  her,  got  hold  of  her,  and  told 
her  to  go  to  bed,  that  there  was  no  use  for  so  much  ado 
about  religion.  Soon  she  was  on  the  floor  again,  engaged  in 
prayer.  The  mother  put  her  to  bed  again.  She  arose  the 
third  time,  entreating  her  mother  to  let  her  alone.  The  power 
of  God  came  on  her  so  remarkably  that  she  was  helpless. 
When  she  recovered  she  knew  that  God  had  answered  her 
prayer.  Another  sister  became  deeply  engaged  for  sanctifica- 


368  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

tion.  After  praying  five  times  in  quick  succession,  she  con- 
cluded she  was  going  to  die.  She  went  to  tlie  door  to  call  some 
near  neighbors,  but  could  not  speak.  She  then  went  to  prayer 
again,  and  fell  to  the  floor  as  one  dead  ;  when  she  came  to, 
she  knew  God  had  sanctified  her  soul.  This  caused  others 
to  seek  the  same  blessing. 

The  next  preaching  day  a  number  fell  to  the  floor.   "  One 
man  attempted  to  run  ofi",  but  God  laid  him  down  at  the 
door."    A  woman  made  the  same  attempt,  and  fell  back  into 
the  house  as  she  was  going  out  of  the  door.    In  class  several 
were  on  the  floor :  some  found  peace,  and  others  professed 
sanctification.     One  very  wicked  woman  was  arrested  by  the 
power  of  God,  and  scrambled  out  of  the  door,  and  laid  hold 
of  a  cheese  press  to  keep  herself  from  falling.     She  set  off 
for  home ;  and  concluded  it  was  only  a  fright  from  seeing 
others  agitated ;  but  the  Spirit  of  God  arrested  her  again  on 
her  way  home.    When  she  reached  her  house,  she  threw  her- 
self on  the  bed,  and  lost  her  usual  command  of  herself;  and 
shook  until   the  bed  trembled   beneath  her.     The  alarmed 
neighbors  gathered  around  her;  she  lay  shaking  the  bed; 
and  then  exhorted  the  people  not  to  live  as  she  had  lived  : 
she  admonished  them  for  an  hour ;  and  many  wept,  while 
terror  was  depicted  on  the  countenance  of  every  sinner  pre- 
sent.  She  continued  two  days  and  nights  in  this  strange  way 
before  she  was  able  to  get  out  of  bed.    In  the  evening  of  the 
third   day  she   came   to   the   house  of  Mr.  Abbott,  and   in 
family  prayer  the  Lord  set  her  soul  at    liberty  ;    and  she 
returned  home  rejoicing  in  God — joined  society,  and  con- 
tinued faithful  for  about  six   months.     Then,  her  husband 
had  a  church  trial  which  went  against  him.   She  took  umbrage 
at  it,  and  came  no  more  to  meeting.      She  soon  returned  to 
her  old  practices,  and  was  worse  than  ever  for  cursing,  swear- 
ing, and    blaspheming.     About   eighteen   months   after  she 
sickened  and  died.     In  her  sickness  she  sent  for  Mr.  Abbott, 
who  exhorted  her  to  try  to  turn  to  God.     But  she  could  not 
see  how  God  could  have  mercy  on  one  that  had  sinned  against 
light,  as  she  had  done.     She  exhorted  the  backsliders  that 
were  around  her  to  turn  to  God  before  it  was  too  late.     Mr. 
Abbott  endeavored  to  pray  with  her,  but  it  seemed  as  if  his 
mouth  was  stopped  ;  and  he  had  no  access  to  the  throne  of 
grace.     He  exhorted  her  to  try  to  pray.     She  replied,  "I 
have  no  heart  nor  power  to  pray."     After  advising  her  to 
beg  God  to  give  her  a  heart  to  pray,  he  left  her  and  returned 
home.   Her  son  came  after  me  saying  with  tears,  "  0,  do  go, 
for  she  frightens  us  so  that  we  are  afraid  to  stay  in  the 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  369 

house."  As  Mr.  Abbott  could  not  go,  he  sent  his  daughter 
Rebecca.  She  found  several  of  the  neighbors  there  ;  and 
the  sick  woman  pointing  with  her  hand  and  saying  to  the 
by-standers,  "  Do  not  you  see  the  devils  there  ready  to  seize 
my  soul  and  drag  it  to  hell  ?"  Some  of  them  said  there  are 
no  devils  here,  she  is  without  her  senses  ;  but  she  replied, 
"I  have  my  senses  as  well  as  ever  I  had  in  my  life."  She 
then  cried  out,  "  I  am  in  hell,  I  am  in  hell  !"  Some  of  them 
said,  "  You  are  not  in  hell,  you  are  out  of  your  senses."  She 
replied,  "  I  am  not  out  of  my  senses ;  but  I  feel  as  much  of 
the  torments  of  the  damned  as  a  mortal  can  feel  in  the  body  !" 
"  Her  flesh  rotted  from  her  bones ;  and  fell  from  one  of  her 
sides,  so  that  her  entrails  might  be  seen.  In  this  awful  state 
she  left  the  world." 

In  all  the  region  of  country  round  about  Salem,  in  New 
Jersey,  it  appears  that  Methodism  was  introduced  through 
the  preaching  of  Mr.  Abbott :  he  established  it  in  Manning- 
ton  between  1777  and  1780 ;  he  moved  into  Lower  Penn's 
Neck  about  the  beginning  of  1781,  and  planted  Methodism 
there.  This  same  year  he  established  preaching  at  Benjamin 
Wetherby's  at  Quinten's  Bridge,  near  Salem.  Here  he  raised 
a  class  this  year,  or  in  1782.  Henry  Firth  and  John 
M'Claskey,  his  brother-in-law,  were  chief  men  in  this  society. 
Mr.  Wetherby  became  a  zealous  laborer  in  the  cause  of  Meth- 
odism, and  afterward  fell  away.  It  seems  that  he  was  the 
person  that  Mr.  Abbott  performed  one  of  his  last  acts  of 
dut}^  to  at  the  burial  of  Sister  Paul,  in  Salem,  in  1796,  by 
"  Particularly  exhorting  him  to  call  to  mind  the  happy  hours 
they  had  spent  together  in  days  when  they  rejoiced  as  fellow- 
laborers  in  the  cause  of  Christ — how  much  Mr.  W.  had  done 
for  the  cause  of  God — warning  him  in  the  most  solemn  man- 
ner of  his  danger  until  tears  flowed."  Mr.  W.  was  much 
offended  at  this  personal  address  so  publicly  made  ;  but  the 
Lord  made  it  a  nail  in  a  sure  place  ;  and  in  the  first  love- 
feast  held  in  Salem  after  Mr.  Abbott's  death,  ''Mr.  W. 
declared  that  God  had  made  Father  Abbott  an  instrument  in 
his  restoration  to  the  favor  of  God."  See  Abbott's  Life,  pp. 
270-271. 

About  this  time  Methodism  was  working  its  way  into  the 
town  of  Salem.  What  year  the  first  class  was  formed  in 
this  town  we  are  unable  to  say.  In  1783,  a  few  of  the  scat- 
tered Methodists  attempted  to  build  a  house  of  worship,  but 
found  themselves  too  weak  to  accomplish  it.  They  applied 
to  some  of  the  Friends  for  assistence,  who  subscribed  liber- 
ally.    The  matter  was  talked  over  in  the  Friends'  quarterly 


370  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

meeting,  where  the  objection,  *'  That  the  Methodists  spoke 
for  hire"  was  raised;  but  it  was  answered  "no,  they  speak 
only  for  a  passing  support ;"  so  there  was  consent  given 
that  Friends  who  were  free  to  do  it  might  give.  This  was 
about  the  fourth  Methodist  chapel  founded  in  New  Jersey : 
following  Bethel,  New  Mills,  and  Trenton. 

The  following  account  of  one  of  Mr.  Abbott's  first  sermons  in 
this  town  we  had  from  certain  old  Methodists  of  Salem.  He 
came  into  town  one  cold  day  with  his  great-coat  bound  to  his 
body  with  a  piece  of  cart  rope,  driving  his  ox  team  with  a 
load  of  wood.  Some  of  the  lawyers  and  courtly  gentlemen, 
wishing  to  have  some  amusement,  concluded  to  solicit  a  ser- 
mon from  this  preacher  of  rough  apparel  without  giving  him 
an  opportunity  of  having  access  to  his  wardrobe  to  change 
his  vestments.  One  of  their  number  was  deputed  to  wait 
upon  him  and  engage  his  service,  which  was  not  much 
expected  or  desired  by  them.  He  told  the  messenger  that 
if  a  place  was  prepared,  as  soon  as  he  disposed  of  his  wood 
he  would  preach  to  them.  Having  gone  thus  far,  these  gentry 
could  not  consistently  abandon  their  scheme  of  pleasure.  An 
upper  room  in  the  court-house  was  fixed  upon  as  the  place 
for  the  sermon,  and  a  Bible  was  placed  upon  the  business- 
table  of  the  room ;  as  many  of  their  class  as  were  prepared 
for  a  season  of  diversion  seated  themselves  in  the  room.  At 
the  appointed  hour  Mr.  Abbott  was  there  ;  and  drawing  the 
table  before  the  only  door  of  the  room,  took  his  stand  out- 
side, having  them  well  secured  within.  They  were  soon 
taught  that  his  rough  apparel  and  appearance  were  a  true 
type  of  his  peeling  words  :  he  made  the  thunder  of  Sinai  fall 
upon  them  like  the  hammers  of  heaven.  What  they  heard 
that  day  concerning  lawyers  trying  "  to  make  the  worse 
appear  the  better  reason,"  and  the  damnation  of  hell,  was 
an  effectual  caution  to  them,  never  to  tamper  with  him  any 
more. 

The  early  Methodists  of  Salem  had  a  good  deal  of  opposition 
and  persecution.  x\.fter  they  erected  their  first  little  chapel, 
they  were  frequently  disturbed  by  mobs,  when  met  for 
worship;  but,  onjnaking  application  to  the  magistrates  they 
obtained  relief,  and  the  rioters  had  to  pursue  another  course 
to  avoid  the  penalty  of  the  law.  To  gratify  their  morbid 
souls,  they  met  together  to  turn  experimental  religion  into  a 
farce.  In  burlesquing  religion  they  acted  band-meetings, 
class-meetings,  and  love-feasts ;  and  thus  entertained  the 
profane  company.  One  night,  while  they  were  performing 
one  of  their  mock  meetings,  a  young  actress  stood  up  on  one 


1783.]  IN  AMERICA.  371 

of  the  benches  to  speak  her  feigned  experience ;  after  she 
had  said  much  to  excite  the  mirth  of  the  audience,  she  began 
to  beat  her  breast,  exclaiming,  "  Glory  to  God,  I  have  found 
peace ;  I  am  sanctified ;  I  am  now  fit  to  die."  No  sooner 
had  this  wretched  girl  uttered  these  words,  than  she  dropped 
from  the  bench  on  the  floor,  and  was  taken  up  a  lifeless  corpse. 
Struck  with  consternation,  the  farce  ended,  and  the  company 
broke  up.  Some  of  them  put  the  body  of  the  dead  girl  on 
a  barrow,  and  wheeled  it  to  the  door  of  her  sister,  who  was 
a  serious,  thoughtful  woman  ;  but  she  refused  to  let  them 
bring  the  body  into  her  house ;  fearing,  it  may  be,  the 
judgments  of  God  might,  also,  fall  upon  her ;  and  the  par- 
ticipators in  the  profane  meeting  had  to  take  charge  of  the 
corpse,  and  bury  it.  Conscious  that  they  had  gone  beyond 
the  bounds  of  common  profaneness,  this  club  never  assembled 
again  to  ridicule  religion  ;  nor  was  there  a  tongue  that  dared  to 
move  against  the  Methodists  :  God  had  effectually  vindicated 
their  cause. 

More  recently,  one  of  the  Methodists  in  or  near  Salem,  a 
brother  by  the  name  of  Charles  Johnson,  was  in  a  trance ; 
and  after  continuing  in  this  state  for  several  hours,  as  soon 
as  he  opened  his  eyes  in  the  morning,  he  informed  the 
company  that  he  had  seen  two  of  his  neighbors  die  and 
go  into  eternity,  giving  their  names.  That  he  saw  one  of 
them  go  into  Paradise,  and  the  other  into  hell,  telling  which 
was  happy  and  which  was  miserable.  What  made  this 
declaration  most  astonishing,  no  one  of  the  company  knew, 
at  the  time  they  heard  him  make  it,  of  the  death  of  the 
individuals  named,  nor  did  they  know  that  one  of  them  was 
even  sick,  and  were  disposed  to  affirm  that  they  were  not 
dead.  But  Brother  Johnson  re-affirmed  that  he  had  seen 
them  die  and  meet  their  doom.  It  was  not  many  hours 
before  the  news  reached  most  of  the  company  of  the  death 
of  the  two  individuals,  and  that  they  died  about  the  same 
hour  that  Brother  J.  came  out  of  his  trance  and  revealed  the 
startling  information  of  their  exit  from  time  to  eternity.* 

In  the  early  days  of  Methodism  in  Salem,  Mr.  Jacob 
Mulford  was  a  leading  man  who  did  much  to  build  up  the 
church — he  was  faithful  unto  death.  There  were  many  of 
this  name  belonging  to  the  Methodists  in  Salem.  One,  the 
Rev.  Wm.  Mulford,  was  a  local  preacher.  There  were  Pauls, 
Millers,  Wares,  Tindles,  Coffees,  &c. 

In  Lower  Penn's  Neck,  there  were  Pedricks,  Murphys, 

*  The  Rev.  David  W.  Bartinc  gave  this  account  to  us. 


372  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

Gilmores,  and 
backs,  Morris 
Judge  Smith. 


Gilmores,  and  Jaquettes.     Not  far  off,  Vannemans,  Bilder- 
backs,  Morrises,  Newells ;   besides  Firths,  Weatherbys,  and 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


In  1783,  Methodism  was  introduced  into  Salisbury,  N.  C, 
and  a  small  class  was  formed.  One  of  the  original  members 
of  this  class  was  living  in  1854.  A  very  interesting  account 
of  her  has  lately  been  given  by  her  pastor,  the  Rev.  S.  V. 
Blake.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Wm.  Temple  Cole, 
and  his  wife  Sarah,  born  at  Cheraw  Hills,  in  1763,  near  the 
Great  Pee  Dee  river,  in  South  Carolina.  At  the  age  of  two 
years,  her  parents  moved  to  Salisbury.  Losing  her  father, 
her  mother  married  Mr.  Wm.  Thompson.  At  this  time  the 
war  was  raging ;  and  Gen.  Gates  being  defeated,  she,  with 
her  relations,  was  obliged  to  fly  before  the  British  and  In- 
dians, to  Frederick  county,  Md.,  where  she  lived  two  years. 
While  here.  Miss  Henrietta  Cole  was  married  to  Philip  Fish- 
burn.     The  war  being  over,  they  returned  to  Salisbury. 

Miss  Cole,  now  Mrs.  Fishburn,  had  received  some  early 
religious  instruction  from  her  father,  which  had  made  a  good 
impression.  She  formed  a  taste  for  reading  very  early  in 
life,  which  was  never  lost,  and  which  accounts  for  the  rich 
store  of  information  she  possesses.  Her  earliest  conviction 
for  sin  dates  back  to  her  ninth  year,  of  which  she  has  a  dis- 
tinct recollection,  as  follows:  She  gave  her  mother  a  thought- 
less and  improper  answer,  for  which  she  was  instantly  re- 
proved. Such  was  her  sense  of  guilt,  shame,  and  sorrow, 
for  this  rudeness  to  her  mother,  which  she  felt  was  a  great 
sin  against  God,  that  she  went  to  a  dark  room  and  wept  and 
prayed  to  God  for  forgiveness.  From  this  period,  till  her 
fifteenth  year,  she  read  everything  within  her  reach,  but  was 
deprived  of  proper  spiritual  advisers,  or  she  would  have 
become  religious  much  sooner  than  she  did.  In  her  sixteenth 
year,  while  at  her  mother's,  in  Virginia,  she  became  very 
serious,  and  her  reading  was  altogether  religious.  She  began 
now  to  feel  the  need  of  something  to  make  her  happy,  and 
was  earnestly  seeking,  without  knowing  what  it  was.  She 
had  five  books,  which  she  constantly  read,  and  which  were 
the   only  food   she   had  for    her   seeking   soul — the  Bible, 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  373 

Thomas  a  Kempls,  Drellncourt  on  Death,  the  Family  In- 
structor, and  Pilgrim's  Progress.  These  were  her  only 
counsellors — for  she  had  no  ministers  to  consult,  no  religious 
meetings  or  church  privileges.  Most  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Established  Church  had  left  their  parishes  and  gone  to  Eng- 
land, in  consequence  of  the  war.  She  seems  to  have  been 
led  and  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God  alone.  A  sincere  seeker 
of  something  to  make  her  happy,  she  knew  not  what,  her 
room  and  the  woods  were  regularly  visited  for  prayer.  Next 
to  her  Bible,  she  received  most  light  and  encouragement 
from  Pilgrim's  Progress.  In  these  exercises  she  continued 
until  all  sense  of  guilt  and  sorrow  was  gone,  she  knew  not 
where,  nor  how,  and  felt  her  heart  melted  down  into  tender- 
ness, gratitude,  and  love.  Now  she  was  very  happy,  but 
knew  not  why,  only  that  this  was  the  state  of  mind  she  had 
so  earnestly  sought.  Such  was  her  experience  at  sixteen 
years  of  age.  At  that  time  she  had  never  heard  of  the 
Methodists.  She  had  lost  all  relish  for  foolish  and  sinful 
amusements,  and  utterly  refused  to  participate  in  the  exer- 
cises of  a  dancing  party  at  her  brother's,  greatly  to  the 
astonishment  of  all  present.  During  her  residence  in  Mary- 
land, she  diligently  sought,  in  all  religious  meetings  within 
her  reach,  food  for  her  soul,  but  found  none.  She  went  to 
the  Dunkers'  meetings,  but  it  was  all  German,  which  she  did 
not  understand.  She  next  visited  the  Roman  Catholics,  but 
heard  nothing  but  mass  said  in  an  unkyioivn  tongue.  Lastly, 
she  attended  a  Quaker  meeting,  but  there  was  nothing  but 
solemn  silence.  Doomed  to  disappointment,  she  was  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  upon  her  books  and  private  devotions,  and 
be  a  Church  in  herself. 

Soon  after  her  return  to  Salisbury,  N.  C,  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  it  was  announced  that  there  would  be  preaching  in 
a  school-house  by  a  new  kind  of  people,  called  Methodists. 
She  knew  nothing  about  that  people,  either  good  or  bad,  but 
greatly  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  hearing  the  gospel 
preached.  She  went  early  to  the  place  of  preaching,  and 
was  expecting  to  see  a  minister  resembling  the  old  Church 
parsons  ;  but  judge  of  her  surprise,  when,  instead  of  a  stout, 
good-looking,  finely  dressed  gentleman,  with  gown  and  sur- 
plice, in  silk  stockings  and  silver  buckles,  in  walked  a  slender, 
delicate  young  man,  dressed  in  home-spun  cotton  jeans. 
Though  plainly  attired,  she  perceived  in  his  countenance 
unusual  solemnity  and  goodness.  The  preacher  was  the  Rev. 
Beverly  Allen. 

The  impressions  made  upon  her  mind  and  heart  by  this 
32 


374  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

sermon — the  first  she  ever  heard  from  a  Methodist  minis- 
ter— have  never  been  effaced  from  her  memory.  The  subject 
was  experimental  religion,  explained  and  enforced.  To  her 
surprise,  the  preacher  unfolded  her  entire  experience,  and 
seemed  to  give  in  detail  all  the  exercises  of  her  mind,  from 
her  first  conviction  for  sin,  until  she  was  made  happy  in  the 
love  of  God.  Not  till  then  did  she  know  that  she  enjoyed 
religion  ;  although  happy,  she  did  not  fully  understand  why. 
Her  experience  exactly  agreeing  with  the  word  preached, 
she  concluded  that  the  preacher,  an  entire  stranger,  could 
not  have  known  so  much  about  her,  had  not  God  revealed  it 
to  him.  At  his  third  visit  he  formed  a  small  class,  of  which 
she  was  one.  Such  was  the  introduction  of  Methodism  into 
Salisbury,  N.  C,  in  the  summer  of  1783. 

In  1786,  Bishop  Asbury  held  Conference  in  Salisbury. 
Twenty-four  preachers  attended  this  Conference,  and  seven 
of  them,  nearly  one-third  of  the  M'hole  number,  were  enter- 
tained in  the  house  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fishburn.  The  truly 
Christian  deportment  of  these  ministers  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  with  their  preaching,  was  profitable,  in  a  high  degree, 
to  many,  and  especially  to  Mrs.  Fishburn.  About  1789,  Mr. 
Fishburn  returned  to  Maryland ;  but,  soon  after  he  went  to 
Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Bedford  county  in  1791,  where 
Mrs.  Fishburn  has  lived  for  the  last  sixty-four  years. 

In  1791,  there  was  not,  to  her  knowledge,  a  church  of  any 
description  in  this  county ;  and  she  remained  here  fourteen 
years  before  she  heard  a  sermon  by  a  Methodist  preacher. 
During  all  this  period,  her  only  place  of  worship  was  her 
closet,  or  a  pine  thicket,  to  which  she  repaired  to  pour  out 
her  soul  to  God  in  prayer,  as  most  of  this  time  she  was  living 
in  a  cabin  in  the  woods. 

She  moved  to  a  place  in  this  county  called  Bloody  Run, 
deriving  its  name,  in  all  likelihood,  from  the  melancholy  cir- 
cumstance that  a  party  of  whites  had  been  massacred  by 
Indians,  and  the  water  of  the  run  became  stained  with  human 
blood.  Here  there  were  a  few  families,  but  very  wicked — 
for  there  was  not  a  symptom  of  religion  or  morality  among 
them.  Living  in  the  midst  of  these  people,  without  the 
means  of  grace,  where  no  Sabbath  was  observed,  and  being 
opposed  by  her  husband,  also,  she  became  greatly  ternpted 
and  discouraged ;  and  at  last  so  far  yielded  to  the  tempta- 
tion as  to  neglect  her  closet  and  Bible  more  and  more,  until 
she  found  her  religious  comfort  was  gone,  and  she  had  fallen 
from  her  state  of  acceptance  with  God.     She  soon  discovered 


1783. J  IN   AMERICA.  375 

her  loss,  mourned  over  it,  became  very  miserable,  and  knew 
not  how  to  regain  her  forfeited  peace. 

In  this  unhappy  state  she  continued  for  some  time,  and  it 
seemed  that  she  had  lost  the  power  to  pray  and  believe.  She 
moved  to  another  part  of  the  county,  and  shortly  after  heard 
that  there  was  to  be  Methodist  preaching  about  four  miles 
from  her  residence. 

The  day  appointed  came,  and  she  walked  to  the  place  and 
heard  the  Rev.  Andrew  Hemphill  preach ;  became  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  her  dangerous  state,  and  so  deeply  distressed 
as  to  be  on  the  verge  of  despair.  This  state  of  mind  con- 
tinued for  some  months,  until,  after  seeking,  reading,  mourn- 
ing, and  praying,  she  was  led  to  the  Saviour  by  faith,  and 
was  restored  to  her  former  happiness  again.  She  greatly 
rejoiced  at  her  deliverance,  and  has  never  faltered  since. 

With  great  reluctance  she  returned  again  to  Bloody  Run, 
and  was  the  only  professor  of  religion  in  the  place.  Soon  a 
Methodist  preacher  came  along,  and  inquired  at  her  house 
whether  they  wanted  the  gospel  in  that  place,  and  who  would 
open  a  house  for  preaching.  Her  house  was  immediately 
opened,  and  some  neighbors  collected,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Mat- 
thews preached.  Such  was  the  commencement  of  Methodism 
in  that  place,  which  is  now  the  centre  of  a  flourishing  circuit. 
God  has,  since  that  time,  raised  up  many  valuable  friends  of 
the  cause  there,  and  they  now  have  a  neat  church  and  a  new 
parsonage,  and  a  Methodist  preacher  living  among  them. 

In  1816  she  moved  to  the  borough  of  Bedford,  where  she 
has  since  resided.  Here  she  found  a  small  class  of  six 
Methodists,  which  she  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth  immedi- 
ately joined.  All  the  weight  of  her  influence,  age,  and 
efforts,  was  now  employed  to  advance  the  good  cause,  and 
with  marked  success.  The  cause  of  Methodism  has  been 
steadily  advancing  to  the  present  time.  The  Church  has 
grown  up  around  her,  and  hundreds  have  been  brought  into 
the  fold  of  Christ.  Bedford  is  a  distinct  charge  now,  with 
a  considerable  membership,  a  large  church,  twelve  classes, 
a  flourishing  Sabbath  school,  good  parsonage,  an  intelligent 
congregation,  and  enjoying  both  temporal  and  spiritual  pros- 
perity. To  all  this  Mother  Fishburn,  by  her  counsel,  ex- 
ample, and  liberality,  has  largely  contributed.  Few  persons 
have  ever  had  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  universal  confidence 
and  affection  of  the  whole  community  than  she.  By  all  de- 
nominations she  is  regarded  as  a  model  of  intelligent,  steadj^, 
and  consistent  piety.  Take  her  all  in  all,  she  is  certainly  a 
remarkable  woman. 


376  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

1.  For  her  age.  The  13th  of  March,  1854,  she  will  be 
ninety-one  years  old.  It  is  seventy-five  years  since  she  first 
became  religious,  and  seventy-one  since  she  joined  the  Me- 
thodists ;  has  lived  in  five  different  states,  passed  through  the 
toils  and  dangers  of  two  ivars,  and  even  at  her  advanced  age 
retains  an  unusual  degree  of  mental  and  physical  strength. 
She  now  resides  with  her  grandson,  Hon.  W.  T.  Dougherty, 
who  represents  this  county  in  the  state  legislature  now  in 
session.  There  are  four  generations  living  in  the  same  house 
— Mother  Fishburn,  her  daughter,  her  grandson,  and  great- 
grandson.  She  has  descendants  of  three  generations  now 
living  in  the  West  and  South,  who  will  be  gratified  to  see 
this  notice  of  their  honored  mother. 

2.  For  her  Scriptural  and  elevated  piety.  There  is  a 
richness,  maturity,  and  ripeness  in  her  experience,  associated 
with  so  much  gospel  wisdom,  and  such  an  evangelical  spirit, 
as  are  rarely  to  be  found.  Religion  seems  to  be  the  element 
and  hahit  of  her  soul,  and  imparts  its  influence  to  all  ai'ound 
her.  It  is  refreshing  to  hear  her  voice  in  love-feast,  class, 
and  prayer-meetings ;  and  the  clear  indication  is,  that  she  is 
all  ready  for  her  heavenly  inheritance,  and  is  patiently  waiting 
for  the  summons  of  her  Lord. 

3.  For  Christian  faithfulness.  Prompt  and  uniform  in 
duty,  she  has  been  an  example  to  all.  Her  closet,  family 
altar,  class,  public  worship,  and  Bible,  were  not  neglected. 
This  attention  to  duty  is  kept  up  with  rigid  punctuality,  even 
in  her  advanced  age.  On  last  Christmas-day  she  was  at 
class-meeting  at  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  at  preaching  lOJ,  and  at 
prayer-meeting  in  her  grandson's   house  in  the   afternoon. 

On  this  subject  she  is  a  constant  stimulus  to  all  the  Meth- 
odist society  here. 

4.  For  her  usefulness.  For  many  years  she  has  been  a 
wise  and  safe  counsellor  for  the  ministers  and  others,  a  faithful 
sub-pastor  in  visiting  and  praying  with  the  sick,  a  valuable 
laborer  at  the  altar  in  revivals,  an  unflinching  friend  of  the 
Church  and  her  ministers,  liberal  and  prompt  in  supporting 
the  gospel,  and  for  some  time  was  a  useful  and  faithful  class- 
leader.  Her  house  has  ever  been  open  to  entertain  the 
gospel,  and  them  that  preach  it.  And  even  now,  in  her 
grandson's  residence,  there  is  a  weekly  prayer-meeting,  and 
also  a  female   class   which   is  led  by  her  grandson's   wife. 

What  moral  grandeur  there  is  in  thus  calmly  and  peacefully 
winding  up  a  life  that  has  been  so  long,  eventful,  and  useful ! 

May  she  be  spared  a  little  longer  to  bless  the  Church  with 
her  wisdom,  piety,  and  example.  S.  V.  Blake. 

Bedford,  Pa.,  Jan.  16,  1854. 


1783.]  IN  AMERICA.  377 

The  Conference  of  1783  began  at  Ellis's  Chapel,  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  early  part  of  May  ;  and  ended  its  business  in 
the  latter  end  of  the  same  month,  in  Baltimore.  This  Con- 
ference made  a  new  rule,  providing  for  the  wives  of  the 
travelling  preachers,  by  making  a  collection  in  the  circuits 
for  this  purpose.  At  this  time  there  were  eleven,  to  wit, 
Sisters  Forrest,  Mair,  Wyatt,  Thomas,  Ellis,  Everett,  Kimble, 
Watters,  Hagerty,  Pigman,  and  Dickens,  to  be  provided  for. 
Many  of  the  leading  laymen  objected  to  this  rule,  and  it  was 
rescinded  after  a  while.  A  second  rule  prohibited  the 
Methodists  from  making,  selling,  or  drinking  spirituous 
liquors.  It  was  also  resolved  not  to  receive  European  Meth- 
odists without  a  valid  letter  of  recommendation. 

New  York,  which  had  been  blank  since  1777,  again  ap- 
peared in  the  Minutes  as  a  station  ;  also,  Norfolk.  Nanse- 
mond,  Holston,  and  Alleghany  (a  substitute  for  South 
Branch),  appear  as  new  circuits  in  Virginia.  In  Maryland — 
Cumberland,  Caroline,  and  Annamessex.  In  DelaAvare — 
Dover.  In  North  Carolina — Guilford,  Caswell,  Salisbury, 
Marsh,  Bertie,  and  Pasquotank.  There  were  thirty-nine 
circuits,  and  eighty-two  preachers  stationed  on  them. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Everett  says  :  "  At  the  May  Conference 
in  1783,  I  was  appointed,  with  John  Coleman  and  Michael 
Ellis,  to  travel  Baltimore  Circuit,  where  the  Lord  still  blessed 
his  word.  By  this  time  I  got  to  see  into  the  Bible,  in  a 
deeper  manner  than  ever ;  so  that  it  seenjed  like  another,  or 
a  new  book  to  me.  By  this  time  the  Lord  had  heard,  and 
answered  my  prayers,  in  the  conversion  of  my  wife,  which 
lightened  my  burden.  She  saw  that  she  had  been  fighting 
against  God,  in  treating  me  wrongly,  which  wounded  her 
very  sensibly  ;  and  this  was  sweet  revenge  to  me.  She  no 
more  objected  to  my  travelling.  The  measure  she  had  given 
me,  was  measured  to  her  again ;  her  very  children  spoke 
evil  of  her,  and  hated  her  company.  From  Baltimore  I  went 
in  the  fall  of  1783,  to  take  charge  of  Frederick  Circuit, 
having  Richard  Swift  and  David  Abbott  with  me." 

After  the  Conference  was  over,  Mr.  Asbury  went  into 
Calvert  Circuit.  On  his  way  he  saw  *^  a  young  woman  in 
deep  distress  of  mind,  occasioned  by  the  flight  of  a  Avhip- 
poor-will  close  to  her,  which  strangely  led  her  to  fear  her 
end  was  nigh."  This  might  have  been  providential — God 
can  use  the  most  unlikely  means  to  awaken  sinners.  While 
passing  through  this  circuit,  he  preached  at  Mrs.  Henilcss's, 
Childs's,  Bennett's  Chapel,  which  was  new,  and  Wilson's. 
At  Mrs.  Heniless's  he  had  the  company  of  Mr.  Gates,  the 
32* 


378  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

Church  minister  of  Annapolis — a  polite  man.  The  Misses 
Childs  had  a  school.  After  they  experienced  religion,  the 
deep  and  gracious  impressions  which  they  made  on  the  minds 
of  some  of  the  scholars,  caused  their  parents  to  take  them 
from  under  their  care :  none  of  the  great  and  rich  would 
patronize  them,  as  they  did  not  want  their  children  to  be 
Methodists,  nor  to  be  seriously  religious. 

From  Calvert  he  went  to  New  Virginia,  where  he  preached 
three  funeral  discourses  on  one  Sunday :  one  of  them  was 
for  a  young  woman,  who  had  a  presentiment  of  her  approach- 
ing end.  "  She  had  dreamed  that  within  three  weeks  she 
would  die.  In  addition  to  her  dream,  she  thought  she  heard 
something  strike  on  the  top  of  the  house,  like  the  nailing  up 
of  a  coflfin :  she  took  it  as  a  warning ;  engaged  in  prayer 
more  earnestly  than  ever  ;  became  exceedingly  happy  ;  took 
sick;  and  died  in  great  triumph."  We  must  reject  a  great 
deal  of  respectable  human  testimony,  unless  we  admit  that 
God,  in  his  good  providence,  sometimes  uses  such  means  to 
prepare  people  for  death.  The  experience  of  mankind  in 
general,  abounds  with  such  cases;  and  there  have  "been  many 
among  the  Methodists. 

From  New  Virginia  he  turned  towards  the  Atlantic ; 
holding  quarterly  meeting  at  Worley's,  near  Little  York  ; 
preaching  for  the  first  time  at  Mr.  Beam's,  to  many  people ; 
attending  quarterly  meeting,  for  the  Philadelphia  Circuit,  in 
Chester  county — probably  at  Benson's  Chapel ;  thence  to 
George  Hoffman's,  in  the  Valley,  where  he  found  the  Meth- 
odists engaged  in  erecting  a  new  stone  chapel.  Passing 
through  Philadelphia  he  went  into  New  Jersey,  at  which 
time,  it  is  most  likely,  he  had  his  first  interview  with  Mr. 
Ware,  and  engaged  him  in  the  itinerancy,  sending  him  to 
Dover  Circuit.  While  in  Jersey  he  notices  the  death  of  his 
*'  dear  old  friend,  Mrs.  Maddox,  who  died  this  summer,  aged 
one  hundred  and  two  years."  From  New  Jersey  he  pro- 
ceeded to  New  York — a  place  he  had  not  visited  since  1774; 
nearly  nine  years,  burdened  with  the  direful  evils  of  war, 
had  passed  between.  When  he  left  it,  there  were  two  hun- 
dred Methodists  in  it;  now,  in  1783,  he  found  Brother 
Dickens  preaching  to  the  people,  and  fifty  or  sixty  Methodists 
in  the  city.  He  remarks  :  "  A  little  of  the  good  old  spirit 
yet  prevails  among  these  people."  Returning,  he  came  by 
the  Forks  of  Egg  Harbor,  New  England  Town,  Bridgeton, 
and  Salem.  At  one  place,  after  preaching  while  he  had  a 
high  fever  on  him,  he  afterwards  had  to  lie  down  on  a  plank 
to  take  his  rest — hard  lodgings  for  a  sick  man  ! 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  379 

From  New  Jersey  he  visited  the  Peninsula,  passing 
through  Queen  Anne's,  where  he  found  many  Methodists. 
About  1783,  Dudley's  Meeting-house — the  first  chapel  the 
Methodists  had  in  Queen  Anne's  county — was  erected.  It 
was  a  very  respectable  house  for  the  time  when  it  was  built 
— being  a  brick  edifice,  with  a  vestry-room  attached  to  it. 
This  place,  during  the  first  age  of  Methodism,  was  the  rallying 
point  for  the  Methodists  in  the  county.  The  chapel,  by  way 
of  eminence,  was  called  "  Queen  Anne's  Chapel."  The 
house  still  stands,  and,  in  the  beautiful  grove  that  surrounds 
it,  sleep  the  pious  dead ;  and  among  them,  the  Rev.  William 
Allen,  of  great  equanimity,  and  young  Henderson — both  of 
the  Philadelphia  Conference. 

In  Talbot  county  he  found  some  faithful  Christians  at 
Brother  Hartley's,  and  shared  the  hospitality  of  General 
Benson.  Passing  into  Dorchester  he  observed,  "  I  am  now 
beside  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  Here  Calvert  and  Dorset  lie 
opposite  to  each  other.  Eight  years  ago  (when  he  embarked 
at  Court-house  Point,  in  Cecil  county,  to  pay  his  first  visit 
to  Virginia),  when  going  down  the  Bay,  little  did  I  think 
what  great  things  God  was  about  to  do  for  the  people  of 
both  these  shores."  In  Dorset  he  held  quarterly  meeting 
at  Kane's  barn,  where  he  found  "  a  blessed  work  of  religion 
among  a  people  who  were  once  brutish  and  wicked."  At 
Phoebus's,  in  Somerset  county,  he  preached  at  the  funeral 
of  William  Wright,  one  of  the  travelling  preachers.  After 
which  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Accomac  county,  Va. 

In  1783,  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  stationed  on  Talbot 
Circuit.  Here  he  was  among  a  people,  many  of  whom  he 
had  known  ever  since  they  had  truly  known  the  Lord.  One 
of  his  appointments  was  in  Hopkins's  Neck,  where  he 
preached  to  many  precious  souls.  In  this  Neck,  he  met 
with  one  who  had  loved  the  Methodists  ever  since  they 
came  into  her  neighborhood ;  and  had  a  desire  to  join  the 
society,  but  the  preachers  thought  her  almost  too  young, 
when  she  first  made  application.  At  this  time  she  was 
swiftly  declining  to  the  grave ;  but  was  able  to  testify, 
though  a  child,  that  God  loved  her ;  and  that  there  was  no 
intervening  cloud  between  her  and  the  Saviour.  She  expressed 
strong  desires  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ ;  and  meet  her 
sainted  mother,  who  had  gone  from  her  a  few  months  before, 
in  the  triumphs  of  faith,  to  glory. 

In  the  bounds  of  this  circuit,  there  lived  a  very  remark- 
able man  :  he  was  literally  blind  ;  and  could,  notwithstand- 
ing, as   he  travelled  the  road  to  meeting,  point  out  every 


380  RISE   OF   METHODISM  [1783. 

turn  of  the  road ;  also  point  to  the  plantations,  informing 
Mr.  Garrettson  who  lived  at  each  one ;  and  make  judicious 
remarks  on  the  fields  of  grain  along  the  road.  He  knew 
when  he  came  to  a  gate :  telling  his  boy  that  went  with  him 
"  to  open  that  gate."  He  could  walk  over  his  plantation, — 
go  to  any  room  in  his  house,  or  any  desk,  or  chest ;  and 
count  money  by  his  sense  of  feeling.  His  family  generally 
went  blind  at  the  age  of  twenty,  or  twenty-two  years.  The 
best  of  the  story  is,  that  he  had  spiritual  sight ;  and,  by 
faith,  could  view  the  Redeemer.  His  wife  was  the  converse 
of  himself:  she  was  blessed  with  good  corporeal  sight;  but 
was  entirely  blind  in  spiritual  matters. 

In  Talbot  county ;  and  throughout  the  slave-holding 
states,  wherever  the  Methodists  exercised  their  ministry, 
many  of  the  people  of  color  were  converted,  and  brought 
into  the  Methodist  community.  With  these  Mr.  Garrettson 
had  some  happy  meetings  in  Talbot.  He  found  them,  in 
their  vassalage,  rejoicing  in  the  consolations  of  Christianity: 
religion  had  made  them  happy;  and  thus  its  divine  character 
was  not  only  shown  ;  but,  also,  its  adaptation  to  the  wants 
of  mankind, — especially  the  poor.  While  he  labored  inces- 
santly day  and  night,  for  the  salvation  of  both  white  and 
colored,  his  heart  was  made  to  rejoice  in  the  victories  of 
Christ:  some  of  His  greatest  enemies  submitted  to  the  cross. 

In  1784  he  was  reappointed  to  Talbot.  This  is  one  of  the 
first  instances  we  meet  with,  of  a  preacher  being  appointed 
two  consecutive  years  to  the  same  field  of  labor  at  that  early 
period  of  Methodism.  The  practice  had  been  to  change 
every  six  months.  It  was  the  policy  of  Mr.  Asbury  at  that 
time,  to  distribute  his  well  tried  preachers  throughout  the 
work,  with  whom  he  corresponded ;  and  who  were  his 
substitutes  in  his  absence,  to  exercise  a  subordinate  super- 
vision over  both  preachers  and  people.  At  this  time,  Mr. 
Pedicord  was  in  the  South  for  this  purpose ;  and,  we 
presume,  Mr.  Garrettson  was  continued  on  the  Peninsula 
these  two  years,  to  attend  as  many  quarterly  meetings  as 
was  practicable,  and  render  general  service  to  the  interests 
of  Methodism ;  while  Mr.  Asbury  travelled,  once  a  year, 
through  the  entire  field. 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  381 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

The  Minutes  show  the  names  of  twenty  new  men  that 
entered  into  the  itinerant  work  in  1783, — their  names  were, 
Jesse  Lee,  Lemuel  Green,  William  Phoebus,  Thomas  Curtis, 
Matthew  Greentree,  Francis  Spry,  James  Thomas,  William 
Wright,  Richard  Swift,  Thomas  Humphries,  Thomas  Ander- 
son, Henry  Merritt,  Thomas  Bowen,  Samuel  Breeze,  Benja- 
min Roberts,  William  Cannon,  William  Damaron,  William 
Ringold,  James  Hinton,  and  Joshua  Worley.  Several  of 
these  preachers,  such  as  James  Thomas,  Thomas  Curtis, 
Matthew  Greentree,  Jesse  Lee,  &c.,  had  travelled  part  of 
the  preceding  year. 

The  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  was  a  native  of  Prince  George's 
county,  near  Petersburg,  Va. ;  born  in  1758.  He  expe- 
rienced a  change  of  heart  in  his  fifteenth  year;  and,  in 
177-1,  when  Mr.  Robert  Williams  began  to  form  Methodist 
societies  in  his  neighborhood,  he,  with  others,  united  with 
them.  In  1778,  when  in  his  nineteenth  year,  he  began  to 
speak  in  public ;  and,  in  1779,  took  his  first  text  to  preach 
upon.  In  1780  he  was  drafted  to  go  into  the  army ;  and 
though  he  could  not  in  conscience  take  human  life,  yet  he 
concluded  to  go,  and  trust  the  result  with  the  Lord.  When 
he  joined  the  army,  a  gun  was  brought  to  him,  which  he 
refused  to  take,  for  which  he  was  put  under  guard.  Many 
came  and  talked  with  him,  and  sympathized  with  his  condi- 
tion with  tears.  Before  he  lay  down  he  had  prayer  with 
the  guard ;  and  rising  early  next  morning  he  began  to  sing, 
in  which  exercise  he  was  soon  joined  by  some  hundreds  of 
the  soldiers,  who  made  the  plantations  ring  with  the  songs 
of  Zion,  after  which  he  prayed  very  fervently  with  tears, 
which  caused  many  of  the  soldiers  to  weep  freely.  Permis- 
sion being  given  by  the  colonel,  he  preached  in  the  camp  on 
the  Sabbath  day ;  and  both  speaker  and  hearers  were 
bathed  in  tears.  After  the  discourse  was  ended,  some  of 
the  gentlemen  went  about  making  a  collection,  from  which 
he  begged  them  to  desist,  as  he  was  unwilling  to  receive  any 
compensation.  The  colonel  released  him  from  the  guard, 
and  appointed  him  to  drive  their  baggage  wagon.  He  was 
in  the  army  three  months,  during  which  time  he  was  instru- 
mental in  doing  much  good  by  his  religious  conversation ; 
and  his  prayers  were   made    a    blessing   to  the   well,   and 


382  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

especially  to  the  soldiers  who  were  sick, — when  any  of  thera 
died  he  attended  them  to  the  grave,  and  prayed  over  their 
remains. 

From  the  Conference  held  at  Ellis's  Chapel  this  year,  Mr. 
Lee  went  to  travel  Caswell  Circuit,  in  North  Carolina.  At 
this  time,  he  had  enjoyed  religion  about  ten  years,  half  of 
which  time  he  had  been  a  public  speaker.  Before  leaving 
Virginia  to  go  to  his  circuit,  he  spent  a  Sabbath  day 
preaching  at  Mrs.  Heath's,  and  at  Brother  Tatum's.  On 
his  way  from  the  former  to  the  latter  appointment  he  saw, 
while  the  sun  was  shining  brightly,  ''a  large  meteor,  or  ball 
of  fire,"  moving  through  the  sky  slowly.  After  it  passed 
from  his  view,  he  heard  a  loud  noise  like  distant  thunder. 
This  to  him  was  a  singular  phenomenon. 

On  his  way  to  his  circuit,  he  met  with  one  who  obtained 
religion  when  she  was  ten  years  old :  she  had  faithfully 
retained  it  for  three  years,  praying  in  public  when  called 
upon ;  and,  was,  for  one  of  her  years,  more  than  ordinarily 
enlightened  in  her  mind,  and  happy  in  religion.  After 
preaching  at  Mrs.  Parker's,  Parish's  Chapel,  and  a  few 
other  places,  it  was  found  that  the  circuit,  which  was  but  a 
fragment  taken  from  another  circuit,  was  too  small  for  two 
preachers,  and  Mr.  Lee  was  removed  to  Amelia  Circuit 
in  Virginia. 

On  his  way  to  Amelia  he  passed  through  Roanoke  Circuit, 
where  that  man  of  God,  John  Easter,  was  laboring.  In  this 
circuit  he  attended  meetings  at  Whitaker's,  Young's,  Low's, 
Clayton's,  Jean's,  Doal's,  Lock's,  and  Jones's  Chapel.  Some 
of  these  meetings  were  very  powerful,  many  people  crying 
out  aloud ;  the  last  meeting  which  he  attended  in  this  circuit 
was  a  quarterly  meeting.  The  Lord's  power  was  manifested 
at  this  meeting,  and  many  souls  were  blessed.  One  young 
man,  Mark  Moore,  was  awakened  under  a  sermon  preached 
by  Mr.  Lee,  and  soon  after  became  a  travelling  preacher  of 
considerable  distinction. 

He  continued  his  labors  on  this  circuit  for  six  months. 
He  makes  mention  of  some  blessed  seasons  which  he  had 
among  his  Christian  friends  at  Thompson's,  Spain's,  and 
Coleman's,  &c.  In  these  meetings  they  were  bathed  in  tears; 
and  the  cries  of  the  people  well  nigh  drowned  the  voice  of 
the  speaker;  many  were  stirred  up  to  seek  a  deeper  work  of 
grace,  while  their  present  happiness  was  great.  They  held 
their  quarterly  meeting  at  Father  Patrick's,  in  Chesterfield 
county.     After  participating  in  the  blessings  of  this  meeting, 


1783.]  IN    AMERICA.  383 

he  left  this  circuit,  and  spent  the  last  quarter  of  this  Confer- 
ence year  on  Sussex  Circuit. 

It  appears  that  the  people  on  Sussex  Circuit  were  much 
alive  in  religion  at  this  time,  as  he  speaks  of  having  melting 
seasons  with  them  at  his  father's  house,  at  Heath's,  Howel's 
Chapel,  Ellis's  Meeting-house,  Bednefield's,  Warren's,  Lane's 
Meeting-house,  Evans's,  Robert  Jones's,  Jordan  Richardson's, 
William  Richardson's,  Rowls's,  and  at  his  brother-in-law^'s, 
Mr.  Perkins.  In  attempting  to  preach  to  them,  sometimes 
his  tears  flowed  so  abundantly  as  to  stop  his  utterance ;  and 
the  cries  of  the  people  were  louder  than  his  voice. 

Mr.  Lemuel  Green  was  a  native  of  Baltimore  county,  Md. 
lie  continued  in  the  regular  itinerant  work,  filling  some  of 
the  most  responsible  stations  among  the  Methodists,  until 
the  year  1800,  when  he  located  and  settled  in  Philadelphia, 
engaging  in  the  mercantile  business.  In  1823  he  was 
readmitted  into  the  Philadelphia  Conference  as  a  super- 
numerary, in  which  relation  he  continued  until  his  death  in 
1831.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  eighty  years  old. 
His  remains  are  sleeping  at  the  Union  M.  E.  Church  in 
Fourth  street,  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  William  Phoebus  was  born  in  Somerset  county,  Md., 
in  1754.  He  was  among  the  first  fruits  of  the  labors  of 
Methodist  preachers  in  his  neighborhood ;  and  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  travelling  preacher  from  his  native  county. 
In  1798  he  located,  and  entered  on  the  practice  of  physic  in 
New  York  city.  In  1806  he  re-entered  the  itinerancy. 
The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he  was  a  supernumerary,  and  a 
superannuated  member  of  New  York  Conference.  He 
ended  his  life  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  in  1831,  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  Brothers  Green  and  Phoebus  not  only 
entered  the  travelling  connection  the  same  year,  but,  after 
forty-seven  years  among  their  brethren,  they  entered  paradise 
the  same  year. 

Dr.  Phoebus  was  at  the  Christmas  Conference  in  Balti- 
more w^hen  the  M.  E.  Church  was  organized.  While  he  was 
located  in  New  York,  he  sometimes  taught  school,  as  well  as 
practised  physic.  At  one  time  he  published  a  magazine. 
He  was  regarded  as  a  dignified  minister, — somewhat  meta- 
physical and  philosophical, — one  who  thought  for  himself, 
and  loved  antiquity.  He  was  not,  however,  a  popular 
preacher;  nor  is  any  one  of  his  type  of  mind  likely  to  please 
the  multitude.  He  was  interred  in  First  Street  Burying- 
ground,  but  has  since'  been  removed  to  Cypress  Hills. 

Mr.  Matthew  Greentree  was  a  native  of  Talbot  county, 


384  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

Md. ;  and,  probably,  was  the  first  that  entered  the  itinerancy 
from  it.  In  1790  he  located.  At  one  time  he  lived  at 
Federalsburg,  in  Caroline  county, — at  another  time  in  Ches- 
tertown;  and  in  1809,  it  appears  from  Mr.  Garrettson's  Life, 
p.  214,  he  was  in  Washington  City,  or  Georgetown  on  the 
Potomac. 

Mr.  Thomas  Curtis  was  a  native  of  Caroline  county,  Md. ; 
and  among  the  first  from  that  county  that  came  into  the 
travelling  connection.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  "  weeping 
prophet,  armed  with  the  irresistible  eloquence  of  tears." 
He  was  "successful  in  his  labors,  and  triumphant  in  death." 
He  was  about  seven  years  in  the  ministry,  and  died  in  1788. 
Dorchester  was  the  circuit  to  which  he  received  his  last 
appointment. 

Mr.  Francis  Spry,  probably,  was  from  Queen  Anne's 
county,  Md.  After  being  in  the  work  about  four  years,  he 
died,  with  unshaken  confidence  in  his  Saviour,  in  1788. 
His  last  appointment  was  to  Baltimore  Circuit. 

Mr.  James  Thomas,  after  three  years  of  useful  labor 
among  the  Methodists,  died  in  1786.  As  a  preacher  he  was 
acceptable,  and  possessed  good  gifts  for  the  work.  His  last 
appointment,  according  to  the  Minutes,  was  to  the  Phila- 
delphia Circuit. 

Mr.  William  Wright,  a  native  of  Ireland,  began  to  preach 
in  1780, — was  stationed  on  Annamessex  in  1783.  After  a 
few  months  of  faithful  labor  he  died  in  peace.  Mr.  Asbury 
preached  at  his  funeral,  at  Phoebus's,  in  Somerset  county. 
His  is  the  first  death  found  on  record  in  the  Minutes. 

Mr.  Richard  Swift  was  an  able  and  successful  Methodist 
preacher.  He  broke  down  in  the  work,  and  located  in 
1793, — married,  and  settled  on  Berkley  Circuit,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Shepherdstown,  Va.  He  continued  to 
serve  the  Methodist  Church  as  a  local  preacher,  faithfully, 
until  about  the  year  1804,  when  he  sickened,  and  died  happy 
in  the  Lord. 

Mr,  Joshua  Worley  seems  to  have  been  of  the  Worleys 
near  Little  York  :  some  of  the  fruit  of  Mr.  Garrettson's 
labors  in  1781.     He  ceased  to  travel  after  two  years. 

Mr.  James  Hinton  travelled  three  years ;  and  located  in 
1786. 

Mr.  William  Ringold  also  located  in  1786. 

Mr.  William  Damaron  desisted  in  1788. 

Mr.  William  Cannon,  a  preacher  of  useful  talents,  located 
in  1788. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Roberts  located  in  1790. 


1783.]  IN    AMERICA.  385 

Mr.  Samuel  Breeze  stopped  ia  1793. 

Mr.  Thomas  Bowen  located  in  1795. 

Mr.  Henry  Merritt  travelled  until  the  year  1796. 

Mr.  Thomas  Anderson  also  located  in  1796. 

Mr.  Thomas  Humphries  desisted  in  1799.  The  last-named 
ten  brethren  appear  to  have  been  from  the  South. 

Mr.  Thomas  Ware,  having  been  recommended  to  Mr. 
Asbury  by  his  spiritual  father,  Mr.  Pedicord,  was  sent,  in 
September,  1783,  to  fill  a  vacancy  on  Dover  Circuit.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  his  regular  itinerant  life.  His  name 
appears  in  the  Minutes  of  1784,  for  the  first  time.  Accord- 
ing to  his  own  account,  he  was  born  in  Greenwich,  Gloucester 
county,  N.  J.,  December  19,  1758.  In  1776,  he  volunteered 
as  a  soldier  in  the  service  of  his  country,  to  assist  in  gaining 
Liberty  and  Independence.  After  passing  through  some  of 
the  severe  vicissitudes  of  war,  he  was  awakened,  and  con- 
verted to  God  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Having  united  with 
the  Methodist  society  in  Mount  Holly,  when  Mr.  Pedicord 
came  to  the  place  to  preach  his  farewell  sermon,  Mr.  Ware 
went  to  a  house  where  a  number  of  his  old  acquaintances 
had  met  the  same  evening  for  a  ball ;  as  soon  as  he  entered 
the  room  some  seemed  delighted  ;  but  those  who  best  knew 
him,  seemed  sad.  He  was  invited  to  be  seated  and  take  a 
social  glass,  which  he  declined,  and  said,  ''  You  know  me, 
and  how  delighted  I  have  often  been  in  your  company,  and 
in  the  amusement  in  which  you  have  met  to  indulge.  But 
my  conscience  will  not  allow  me  now  to  go  with  you ;  and  I 
am  persuaded  none  of  your  consciences  forbid  you  to  go  with 
me.  I  have  come  to  invite  you  to  go  with  me  and  hear  the 
excellent  Mr.  Pedicord  preach  his  farewell  sermon.  Pardon 
me,  my  friends,  I  am  constrained  to  tell  you  the  Lord  has 
done  great  things  for  me  through  the  instrumentality  of  this 
good  man."  No  reply  was  made  to  what  he  said.  Some  of 
the  company  were  aifected,  and  soon  left,  after  he  withdrew ; 
but  none  of  the  party  was  offended,  believing  that  he  acted 
from  a  divine  impulse. 

Not  long  after,  Mr.  Mair  being  suddenly  called  from  his 
work  in  Jersey,  on  account  of  family  affliction,  Mr.  Ware, 
in  his  zeal,  went  to  his  appointments  to  inform  the  people  of 
the  cause  of  the  preacher's  absence,  and  assist  in  keeping 
up  the  appointments  by  helping  to  hold  meetings ;  and  occa- 
sionally, he  was  led  to  exhort  the  people,  who  sometimes 
wept  much  under  his  addresses.  This  led  Mr.  Pedicord  to 
recommend  him  to  Mr.  Asbury,  who  sent  for  him  to  meet 
him  at  New  Mills,  where  they  first  saw  each  other.  At  this 
33 


^86  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783. 

time,  he  was  examined  on  doctrine ;  and  as  Mr.  Asburj 
referred  to  the  matter  of  the  ball,  and  his  going  on  the  cir- 
cuit in  Mr.  Mair's  place,  Mr.  Ware,  thinking  that  his  zealous 
course  was  referred  to  in  order  to  mortify  him,  observed, 
"  If  the  person  who  informed  you  against  me  had  told  me 
of  my  errors,  I  should  have  acknowledged  them."  Here  Mr. 
Asbury  interrupted  him  by  clasping  him  in  his  arms,  and 
saying,  in  an  aflfectionate  tone,  "  You  are  altogether  mistaken, 
my  son  ;  it  was  your  friend  Pedicord  who  told  me  of  your 
pious  deeds,  and  advised  that  you  should  be  sent  to  Dover 
Circuit." 

With  a  heavy  heart,  Mr.  Ware  went  to  the  Peninsula ; 
sorry  to  leave  some  of  his  old  companions  in  Mount  Holly, 
who  were  serious  on  account  of  sin  ;  and  for  whom  he  labored, 
in  hope  of  seeing  them  converted  to  God.  He  felt,  like 
many  others,  that  it  was  engaging  in  an  awfully  responsible 
calling,  and  withal,  going  among  strangers ;  but,  the  "  sim- 
plicity, urbanity,  and  fervent  piety"  of  the  Methodists  on 
Dover  Circuit,  made  him  feel  that  he  was  in  the  right  place  ; 
after  visiting  a  society,  he  longed  to  return  to  it  again. 
Here  he  found  some  Methodists  in  the  first  circle  of  life ; 
who,  in  the  midst  of  wealth,  were  following  the  self-denying 
Saviour.  Some  of  the  females,  such  as  Judge  White's  wife, 
Mrs.  Bassett,  and  her  sisters,  Mrs.  Ward,  and  Mrs.  Jones, 
were  distinguished  for  piety  and  zeal,  above  any  that  he  had 
ever  seen.  He  found  many  young  people  seeking  religion, 
and  had  the  happiness  of  receiving  many  of  them  into 
society.  In  his  public  ministration  he  was  often  constrained 
to  weep  over  the  people,  whose  tears  answered  to  his  ;  in 
tears  he  sowed,  that  he  might  reap  in  joy. 

Having  received  an  invitation  to  preach  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  which  stood  between  the  present  town  of 
Smyrna  and  Duck  Creek  Village,  as  he  was  oflSciating — 
having  gone  through  with  a  part  of  the  morning  service, 
still  standing  in  the  desk,  he  gave  out  his  text ;  but  before 
he  finished  his  introduction,  three  men  marched  into  the 
church,  in  Indian  file,  and  stood  before  the  desk.  The  fore- 
most one  said  he  was  a  vestryman,  and  ordered  him  out  of 
the  desk,  and  out  of  the  church,  or  he  would  compel  him  to 
go  out.  As  Mr.  Ware  did  not  obey  his  mandate,  he  seized 
him  by  the  collar,  and  dragged  him  from  the  desk.  A 
doughty  friend  seized  the  persecutor  in  like  manner,  raising 
his  fist,  ordered  him  to  let  the  preacher  go,  or  he  would 
knock  him  down.  Justice  Raymond  called  out,  "  Don't 
strike    him,   Mr.  Skillington ;    and  if  he   does   not  let  the 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  387 

preacher  alone,  and  cease  disturbing  the  congregation,  I 
will  commit  him."  By  this  time,  he  had  loosened  his  hold 
of  Mr.  Ware,  and  he  and  his  companions  retiring  from  the 
church,  the  preacher  finished  his  discourse.  This  was  an 
unpleasant  scene  for  a  church.  Mr.  Raymond,  who  inter- 
posed his  authority,  if  he  was  not  a  Methodist  at  this  time, 
became  one  soon  after,  and  lived  and  died  a  worthy  and 
useful  member. 

Soon  as  Mr.  Pedicord  heard  that  Mr.  Ware  had  become  a 
travelling  preacher,  he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  him : — 

"  Dear  Tommy, — Brother  Asbury  made  me  glad,  when  he 
informed  me  you  had  consented  to  come  down  to  the  Peninsula, 
in  the  character  of  a  licentiate,  to  spend  some  time  on  Dover 
Circuit,  and  then  come  to  me.  You  have  kept  in  faithful 
memory  my  earnest  advice,  to  study  deeply  the  sacred 
pages,  therein  to  learn  the  sum  of  good  Heaven  kindly, 
though  conditionally,  wills  to  man.  This  you  have  done, 
and  it  has  eventuated  as  I  hoped  ;  you  have  learned  that 
He  who  claims  all  souls  as  His,  and  wills  them  to  be  saved, 
does  sometimes,  from  the  common  walks  of  life,  choose  men 
who  have  learned  of  Him  to  be  lowly  in  heart,  and  bids  them 
go  and  invite  the  world  to  the  great  supper.  The  Lord  is, 
at  this  time,  carrying  on  a  great  and  glorious  work,  chiefly 
by  young  men  like  yourself.  0,  come  and  share  in  the 
happy  toil,  and  in  the  great  reward  !  Mark  me  !  though  seven 
winters  have  now  passed  over  me,  and  much  of  the  way 
dreary  enough,  yet  God  has  been  with  me,  and  kept  me  in 
the  way  I  went,  and  often  whispered,  '  Thou  art  mine,  and 
all  I  have  is  thine.'  He  has,  moreover,  given  me  sons,  and 
daughters,  too,  born  not  of  the  flesh,  but  of  God ;  and  who 
can  estimate  the  joy  I  have  in  one  destined,  I  hope,  to  fill 
my  place  in  the  itinerant  ranks  when  I  am  gone !  Who, 
then,  will  say,  that  mine  was  not  a  happy  lot?  'Tis  well  you 
have  made  haste ;  much  more  than  I  can  express,  have  I 
wished  you  in  the  ranks  before  mine  eyes  have  closed  in 
death,  and  on  all  below. 

"  It  is  true,  in  becoming  an  itinerant,  you  will  have  to 
sacrifice  all  means  of  acquiring  property,  all  domestic  ease 
and  happiness,  and  must  be  content  with  food  and  raiment. 
Nor  are  the  hardships  and  perils  less  appalling  than  those 
you  have  witnessed  in  our  war  for  independence ;  for  it  is  a 
fact  known  to  you  already,  in  part,  that  the  professing  world, 
with  the  clergy  at  their  head,  are  arrayed  against  us.  But 
thanks  be  to  God,  we  know  that  Jesus  died,  and  rose,  and 
revived,  that  he  might  be  the  Lord  of  the  dead  and  living, 


388  KISE   OF   METHODISM  [1783. 

and  in  receiving  Christ  by  faith,  we  felt  a  courage  com- 
mensurate with  that  which  animated  the  disciples,  when 
Jesus  spake  unto  them,  saying,  '  All  power  is  given  unto  me 
in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  go  ye,'  &c. 

"  It  was  to  the  whole  bench  of  the  apostles  that  the  charge 
was  given,  so  they  understood  it ;  hence,  they  all  became 
itinerants  ;  why,  then,  is  not  the  whole  world  evangelized  ? 
Are  the  clergy  blameless  in  this  matter  ?  So  thought  not 
Wesley ;  so  thinks  not  Asbury,  his  coadjutor.  The  clergy 
have  long  since  abandoned  this  apostolic  plan;  they  have 
doubtless  deemed  it  more  than  could  be  expected  of  them, 
therein  to  copy  the  apostolic  example. 

''  When  Asbury  pressed  me  to  become  an  itinerant,  I  said, 
God  has  called  me  to  preach,  and  woe  unto  me  if  I  preach 
not ;  but  I  had  no  conviction  that  he  had  called  me  to  itinerate. 
*No  conviction,  my  son,'  said  he  to  me,  sternly,  'that  you 
should  follow  the  direction  of  Him  who  commissioned  you 
to  preach  ?  Has  the  charge  given  to  the  disciples — "  Go  and 
evangelize  the  world,"  been  revoked  ?  Is  the  world  evangel- 
ized ?'  He  said  no  more.  I  looked  at  the  world ;  it  was 
not  evangelized.  I  looked  at  the  clergy,  and  thought  of  the 
rebut  received  from  some  of  them  who  were  thought  the 
most  pious,  when  smitten  with  penitential  grief,  and  ardently 
desirous  to  know  what  I  must  do  to  be  saved,  and  thought 
who  hath  said,  '  The  hireling  careth  not  for  the  sheep,  be- 
cause he  is  a  hireling.' 

"  The  world  must  be  evangelized  ;  it  should  long  since 
have  been  so,  and  would  have  been  so,  had  all  who  professed 
to  be  ministers  of  Christ  been  such  as  were  the  first  gospel 
preachers  and  professors ;  for  who  can  contend  with  Him 
who  is  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings,  when  they  that 
are  with  Him  in  the  character  of  ministers  and  members  are 
called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful  ?  Here,  the  drama  ends 
not ;  but  the  time,  we  think,  is  near — even  at  the  door. 
Nothing  can  kill  the  itinerant  spirit  which  Wesley  has  in- 
spired. It  has  lived  through  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
will  live  throuiz;h  all  future  time.  Christendom  will  become 
more  enlightened — will  feel  a  divine  impulse,  and  a  way  will 
be  cast  up,  on  which  itinerants  may  swiftly  move,  and  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  teach  all  nations  the  commands  of  God." 

It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Pedicord  looked  up  the  vista  of  the 
future  with  the  eye  of  a  prophet,  when  he  spoke  of  "  A  way 
cast  up,  on  which  itinerants  might  swiftly  move,"  and  saw  in 
the  dim  distance,  the  great  facilities  of  travel  that  have  since 
been  realized  by  the  power  of  steam,  as  exemplified  on  land 


1783.]  IN   AMERICA.  389 

and  sea.  Who,  at  this  day,  can  write  a  better  letter  than 
Mr.  Pcdicord  ? 

The  winter  of  1783  and  1784  was  passed  away  by  Mr. 
Asbury  in  the  South.  He  travelled  through  the  circuit  that 
Messrs.  Drumgole  and  Lee  had  formed  a  year  previously. 
In  passing  through  Tar  River  Circuit,  he  had  large  and  lively 
meetings.  The  people  of  this  region  felt  the  influence  of 
that  mighty  man  of  God,  John  Easter,  who  had  been  among 
them.  During  this  year  the  Methodists  had  their  greatest 
success  in  North  Carolina,  where  the  increase  was  a  thou- 
sand or  more  ;  nearly  all  the  increase  in  the  connection  this 
year,  was  in  this  state.  In  most  of  the  other  states,  there 
was  a  small  decrease.  In  the  Minutes  of  this  year,  we 
find  twenty-four  Methodists  returned  for  Long  Island, 
exactly  the  number  that  Captain  Webb  had  converted  on 
this  island  in  1767,  sixteen  years  before.  At  this  time, 
Maryland  had  the  greatest  number  of  Methodists  in  it. 
North  Carolina  was  the  next  in  point  of  numbers.  Virginia 
was  the  third.  Delaware  was  the  fourth.  New  Jersey  was 
the  fifth.  Pennsylvania  sixth,  and  New  York  had  the  smallest 
number.  The  increase  throughout  the  work,  was  reported  to 
be  1240;  and  the  whole  number,  14,988.  Of  this  number, 
there  Avas  13,381  south  of  the  southern  line  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  1607  north  of  said  line. 

In  1783,  Mr.  Pedicord  was  stationed  on  Mecklenburg  Cir- 
cuit, which  lay  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

Isaac  Rollin,  in  consequence  of  his  irregularities,  was 
dropped  until  1781,  when  he  was  appointed  to  Pennsylvania. 
Here  he  set  about  making  a  party  for  himself,  requiring  his 
friends  to  keep  his  plans  secret.  After  three  months  he  and 
his  few  followers  took  from  the  Methodists  the  Old  Forest 
Chapel  in  Berks  county ;  and  there  he  set  up  for  himself. 
Soon  he  began  to  be  forsaken  by  his  followers,  and  he  took 
to  begging  by  subscription  and  baptizing  for  a  living.  There 
were  many  scandalous  reports  about  him,  and  he  went  to  the 
Yellow  Springs,  in  Chester  county,  and  had  his  defence 
written  to  vindicate  himself.  From  the  Springs  he  set  off 
on  a  spirited  horse,  but  had  rode  but  a  few  yards  when  he 
was  thrown  to  the  ground  and  died  on  the  spot.  This  death 
occurred  in  1783. 

Some  respectable  expositors  of  the  sacred  text  explain  the 
"sin  unto  death"  to  be  "a  case  of  grievous  backsliding, 
which  God  determines  to  punish  with  the  death  of  the  body, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  he  extends  mercy  to  the  penitent 
soul."  The  case  of  the  disobedient  prophet,  1  Kings,  eh. 
33  * 


390  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1783-4. 

xiii.,  is  supposed  to  be  a  case  of  this  description.  Charity 
may  place  the  death  of  Isaac  Rollin  in  this  category.  There 
may  be  much  truth  in  the  saying,  "  Those  who  reach  heaven 
will  miss  many  that  they  expected  to  meet,  and  find  many 
that  they  did  not  expect  to  see." 

Near  the  Little  Eagle,  in  Uwchlan,  Chester  county,  is  a 
defenceless  lot  on  which  are  a  few  graves.  Some  ancient 
Methodists  are  buried  here ;  and  here,  it  is  most  likely,  a 
grave  was  made  for  Isaac  Rollin.  On  this  lot  once  stood 
Benson's  Chapel — the  first  house  the  Methodists  of  Penn- 
sylvania built  to  be  devoted  exclusively  to  worship.  It  was 
put  up  in  1781.  It  was  a  popular  place,  where  large  con- 
gregations assembled  for  worship — where  the  Methodists 
held  their  quarterly  meetings  for  Philadelphia  Circuit,  in  the 
last  century ;  but  for  an  age  past  it  has  been  deserted,  and 
few  of  the  present  race  of  Methodists  have  even  heard  of  it. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


The  Conference  of  1784  began  at  Ellis's  Chapel,  in  Sus- 
sex county,  Va.,  on  the  last  of  April,  and  ended  its  business 
in  Baltimore,  in  the  last  of  May.  This  year,  for  the  first 
time,  the  question,  "What  preachers  have  died  this  year?" 
is  found  in  the  Minutes.  The  names  of  two  were  set  down, 
but  nothing  was  said  of  their  character  or  the  manner  of  their 
death. 

Another  question  embraced  a  plan  for  erecting  new 
chapels,  and  paying  the  debts  on  such  as  were  already  built, 
by  directing  the  assistant  preacher  to  raise  a  yearly  sub- 
scription in  every  circuit. 

The  eleventh  question  was  intended  to  prevent  superfluity 
in  dress  among  the  Methodists,  by  obliging  the  preachers 
to  carefully  avoid  it  in  their  own  clothes,  and  to  speak  fre- 
quently and  faithfully  against  it  in  all  the  societies. 

Another  question  directed  the  preachers  to  improve  their 
knowledge  of  singing  by  note ;  and  to  keep  close  to  Mr. 
Wesley's  tunes  and  hymns. 

The  following  new  circuits  appear  this  year  on  the  face 
of  the  Minutes  :  In  North  Carolina — Camden,  Halifax,  and 
Wilmington.  In  Virginia — Accomac,  on  the  Eastern  Shore, 
Hampton,  Richmond,  Amherst,  Bedford,   and  Orange,  on 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  391 

the  Western  Shore  ;  and  Portsmouth  substituted  Norfolk.  In 
Pennsylvania — Redstone  and  Juniata.  In  New  Jersey — 
Trenton  appears  again  as  a  third  charge  in  this  state ;  and 
Long  Island  as  a  second  charge  in  New  York  state.  The 
number  of  circuits  was  forty-six,  on  which  eighty-three 
preachers  were  stationed. 

The  Redstone  Circuit,  in  Pennsylvania,  was  the  first 
circuit  formed  beyond  the  Allegheny  Mountain.  General 
Braddock  opened  the  first  road  through  this  wilderness,  when 
he  broke  up  his  camp  at  Fort  Cumberland,  in  Maryland,  in 
1755,  and  marched  over  the  Allegheny,  at  the  head  of  his 
army,  to  attack  the  French  and  Indians  at  Fort  du  Quesne, 
now  Pittsburgh ;  in  which  expedition  he  lost  his  life.  This 
road,  in  many  places,  is  yet  distinctly  visible,  and  for  many 
miles  pursues  the  same  course  nearly  as  that  occupied  by 
the  present  National  Road.  The  first  emigrants  that  settled 
beyond  the  Allegheny  would,  for  good  reason,  avail  them- 
selves of  this,  the  only  road  in  this  wilderness.  Hence  the 
first  settlements  made  by  the  whites  in  this  region  were 
along  this  road.  What  was  called  the  "Redstone  Settle- 
ment" was,  we  opine,  in  Fayette  county.  Methodism  had 
crossed  the  Allegheny  as  early  as  1781 ;  and  now,  three 
years  after,  a  circuit  is  formed  and  appears  on  the  Minutes, 
with  John  Cooper  and  Samuel  Breeze  stationed  on  it.  The 
preachers,  who  had  cultivated  Allegheny  Circuit  the  last  two 
or  three  years,  had  extended  their  labors  into  these  parts 
and  formed  this  circuit.  They  were  such  men  as  Francis 
Poythress,  James  Haw,  and  Benjamin  Roberts.  Methodism 
was  also  much  strengthened  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, Maryland,  and  Virginia  by  the  labors  of  certain  local 
preachers,  whose  praise  was  great  among  the  Methodists  of 
that  age :  such  men  as  Simon  Cochran,  William  Shaw, 
Thomas  Lakin,  and  John  J.  Jacob. 

Mr.  Simon  Cochran  was  born  in  Harness  Fort,  in  1755, 
and  was  eight  days  old  on  the  day  of  General  Braddock's 
defeat.  He  enlisted  in  Dunmore's  war,  and  also  served 
through  the  Revolutionary  war.  During  the  eight  years  that 
he  was  a  soldier  Almighty  power  preserved  him  ;  and  under 
the  first  Methodist  sermon  that  he  heard  he  was  convicted, 
and  in  1780  was  converted  and  joined  the  Methodists.  In 
the  following  year  he  began  to  preach.  After  he  had  done 
much  good  in  this  section  of  the  country  he  was  ordained  by 
Bishop  Asbury,  and  moved  to  Kentucky  in  1799,  and, 
finally,  to  Ohio,^  where,  after  he  had  acceptably  preached 
Christ  for  sixty-four  years,  he  departed  this  life  in  his  nine- 


392  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

tieth  year,  in  glorious  expectation  of  immortality  and  eternal 
life. 

Messrs.  Shaw,  Lakin,  and  Jacob,  on  account  of  their  inde- 
fatigable labors,  were  styled  the  "Three  Bishops."  The 
three  were  ordained  elders  by  Bishop  Asbury  on  the  same 
day.  Mr.  Thomas  Lakin  was  a  native  of  Montgomery 
county,  Md.,  converted  and  joined  the  Methodists  in  1780. 
Soon  after  he  settled  in  Bedford  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
one  of  the  first  Methodists.  As  a  local  preacher  he  was 
very  useful  in  attending  the  sick  and  dying,  and  preaching 
at  funerals  as  well  as  on  other  occasions.  He  possessed 
talents  as  a  preacher  above  mediocrity.  He  frequently  filled 
the  appointments  of  the  travelling  preachers  around  a  six 
weeks'  circuit ;  and  attended  all  the  quarterly  meetings  in 
his  circuit,  and  many  in  the  adjoining  circuits.  He  ended 
his  life  in  Ohio,  in  1834,  in  his  seventy-first  year,  leaving 
the  odor  of  a  good  name  to  his  many  surviving  friends. 

Mr.  John  Jeremiah  Jacob  was  born  in  Anne  Arundel 
county,  Md.  In  his  youthful  days  he  seemed  to  be  a  subject 
of  special  providence,  for  his  life  was  often  preserved  amidst 
the  greatest  dangers.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  became  a 
lieutenant  in  the  American  army,  where  Almighty  power 
marvellously  preserved  him  to  the  end  of  the  war ;  for 
although  he  was  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown, 
Monmouth,  and  Camden,  where  the  soldiers  were  falling  all 
around  him,  yet  neither  ball,  bayonet,  nor  sword  ever 
touched  a  hair  of  his  head :  God  preserved  him  for  future 
usefulness  in  his  cause.  The  war  being  over,  he  settled  at 
Old  Town,  in  Maryland,  where  he  became  a  Methodist  about 
1783.  He  gives  this  account  of  his  conversion :  "  One 
night,  while  under  conviction,  after  retiring  to  rest,  I  gladly 
and  quietly  sunk  into  sweet  meditation,  when  suddenly,  just 
over  me,  I  saw  a  light  about  the  size  of  a  candle,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  I  entered  into  an  indescribable  ecstasy.  My 
whole  frame,  and  especially  my  heart,  seemed  penetrated 
and  wrapped  in  a  flame  of  fire  and  love;  and  I  think  I  felt 
a  little  like  Peter,  James,  and  John  on  the  mount."  Soon 
after  this  happy  change  he  began  to  preach,  and  was  abund- 
ant in  his  labors  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  In  the  latter  part 
of  his  life  he  gave  up  the  world,  and  yielded  his  soul  entirely 
to  the  service  of  his  Saviour.  It  may  be  said  that  his  life  was 
full  of  benevolence,  and  that  he  lived  only  to  glorify  God. 
When  he  was  nearing  the  heavenly  country  he  took  tender 
leave  of  his  wife  and  children,  saying,  "  I  shall  soon  meet 
Bishop  Asbury  and  Bishop  George.     Now,  Lord,  receive  me 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  393 

to  thyself.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight  of  faith,  I  have 
finished  my  course.  All  is  well — safe — and  then  expired." 
Thus  died  the  good  John  J.  Jacob,  at  his  residence  in  Hamp- 
shire county,  Va.,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  life,  a.  d. 
1839. 

In  1768  Mr.  John  Jones  emigrated  from  Maryland  and 
settled  on  Redstone  Creek,  in  Fayette  county,  Pa.  He  had 
been  strictly  brought  up  to  the  Church  of  England ;  but  was 
unacquainted  with  experimental  religion.  After  he  had 
lived  some  years  in  this  newly-settled  country,  the  Methodist 
preachers  found  their  way  into  it.  So  far  as  we  know,  the 
Rev.  Robert  Wooster  was  the  first.  This  was  about  the 
year  1781,  or  a  little  later.  Hearing  that  a  Methodist 
preacher  would  preach  in  Beesontown,  now  Uniontown,  Mr. 
Jones  went,  a  distance  of  ten  miles,  to  hear  him ;  and,  for 
the  first  time,  heard  Mr.  Wooster,  who  probably  was  the 
first  of  his  order  that  he  heard.  Under  this  first  sermon 
Mr.  Jones  was  awakened  to  see  and  feel  himself  a  sinner. 
He  invited  the  preacher  to  his  house  ;  and  while  Mr.  Wooster 
was  praying  with  his  family,  a  few  weeks  after  his  awaken- 
ing, he  received  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  that  he  was  born 
of  God.  As  soon  as  a  Methodist  society  was  formed  in 
Beesontown,  or  Uniontown,  he  united  with  it;  and,  from 
Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  walked  to  meet  the  few  brethren  and 
sisters  in  this  town  ;  and,  after  worshipping  the  Lord,  returned 
home  happy  in  the  love  of  God.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Green- 
berry  R.  Jones,  was  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Conference  in 
the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  The  Uniontown 
society  appears  to  be  one  of  the  oldest,  if  it  is  not  in  reality 
the  oldest  Methodist  society  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 
Here  the  first  Conference,  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  was  held 
by  Bishop  Asbury,  in  1788.  This  Conference  consisted  of 
seven  members  and  five  probationers.  The  appointments'at 
Doddridge's  and  Moore's  were  among  the  first  stands  the 
Methodists  had  in  this  country — the  latter  was  on  Youghio- 
gheny  river. 

Juniata  Circuit,  with  Simon  Pyle  stationed  on  it,  first 
appears  on  the  Minutes  this  year.  As  emigration  follows 
the  streams  of  water,  so,  of  necessity,  did  Methodism  in  the 
newly-settled  parts  of  this  country.  Methodism  dates  back 
to  an  early  period  on  the  Juniata  river.  It  is  asserted  that 
as  far  back  as  1775  a  local  preacher,  by  the  name  of  Michael 
Cryder,  settled  near  Huntingdon,  built  himself  a  mill, 
preached,  and  raised  up  a  Methodist  society.  If  this  account 
be  a  verity,  Methodism  here  was  only  twelve  or  fifteen  years 


394  RISE    OP   METHODISM  [1784. 

later  than  its  introduction  into  the  country.  From  this 
society  Methodism  was  propagated  through  the  valleys  and 
hills  of  this  part  of  Pennsylvania.  Circuits  and  stations 
have  been  growing  up  from  it  for  the  last  seventy-five  or 
eighty  years. 

North-east  of  this  is  Penn's  Valley,  through  which  flows 
Penn's  Creek,  discharging  its  waters  into  the  Susquehanna, 
below  Sunbury.  In  this  valley,  one  of  the  most  famous  in 
the  state,  Methodism  was  introduced  by  the  Pennington 
family.  Mr.  Robert  Pennington  was  brought  to  God  and 
joined  the  Methodists,  in  the  state  of  Delaware,  soon  after 
the  Church  was  organized.  Finally,  he  settled  in  the  upper 
part  of  this  valley,  in  Centre  county ;  and  it  is  stated,  "  he 
was  the  first  Methodist  in  this  valley."  A  Methodist  society 
was  raised  up,  and  subsequently  a  log  chapel  was  erected  on 
the  side  of  a  mountain,  which  has  since  been  called,  "  Father 
Pennington's  Church."  From  this  society  and  humble  tem- 
ple, almost  concealed  from  public  gaze  by  thick-set  shrub- 
bery, Methodism  has  spread  through  the  whole  of  Penn's 
Valley.  As  Mr.  Pennington  was  the  first  Methodist  in  this 
valley,  and  probably  in  Centre  county,  so  his  "  Church"  was 
the  first  Methodist  chapel  in  the  region. 

Peter  Shaver,  and  Catherine  his  wife,  were  early  Meth- 
odists in  Huntingdon  county.  There  was  a  church  in  their 
house,  and  there  the  ministers  preached  and  were  enter- 
tained. Of  this  region  were  John  and  Mary  Oaks ;  in  their 
house  the  gospel  was  preached,  and  the  Lord's  prophets 
were  fed — some  of  their  children,  Mrs.  Stewart  particularly, 
were  of  the  same  spirit.  In  Perry  county,  which  was  in  the 
Juniata  Circuit,  Jesse  Bowman,  and  Sarah  his  wife,  enter- 
tained the  preachers,  and  were  old  disciples.  Sister  Bow- 
man, lived  eighty-four  years.  There  was  James  Campbell, 
and  Benjamin  and  Mary  Owen  of  this  county. 

Mr.  Everett  says,  "At  the  Conference  of  1784,  I  was 
appointed  to  Fairfax  Circuit,  where  I  continued  to  labor 
until  the  Christmas  Conference,  when  the  Methodists  became 
a  Church.  From  this  Conference  I  was  stationed  in  Berkley 
Circuit,  where  many  souls  were  awakened  and  converted." 

The  Conference  business  being  over  for  this  year,  Mr. 
Asbury  set  out  on  his  annual  circuit.  Directing  his  course  to 
the  west,  he,  for  the  first  time  crossed  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains, following  Braddock's  R.oad.  He  came  to  the  Bedstone 
settlement,  which  was  the  western  margin  of  Methodism  at 
this  time.  He  remarks,  "While  I  was  at  prayer,  a  large 
limb  of  a  sycamore  tree  fell  in  the  midst  of  the  congregation 


1784.]  IN  AMERICA.  395 

assembled  at  Strayder's.  Some  thought  it  was  a  trick  of 
the  devil ;  and  so  indeed  it  might  have  been  ;  perhaps  he  wanted 
to  kill  one  (this  may  refer  to  Mr.  Hezekiah  Bonham,  who  was 
travelling  with  him),  who  spoke  after  me  with  great  power, 
yet,  none  received  injury  from  it."  As  to  their  accommoda- 
tions he  says,  "Three  thick  on  the  floor,  such  is  our  lodging, 
but  no  matter,  God  is  with  us."  Turning  his  face  to  the 
east,  he  came  through  Maryland  into  Pennsylvania,  attending 
quarterly  meeting  in  the  Philadelphia  Circuit,  at  the  new 
stone  chapel  at  the  Valley.  From  here  he  went  into  New 
Jersey.  About  this  time,  Methodism  began  to  take  root  in 
the  upper  part  of  East  Jersey. 

Mr.  Asbury  continued  his  journey  to  New  York,  where  he 
found  about  a  hundred  Methodists,  much  alive  to  God.  It 
seems  that  the  war  had  acted  as  a  fan  to  purge  the  floor. 
They  were  not  now  threatening  to  close  the  door  of  Wesley 
Chapel  against  the  preachers,  as  it  appears  they  did  eleven 
years  before.  He  says,  "To  my  mind  they  appear  more 
like  Methodists  than  I  have  ever  seen  them."  Returning 
through  Jersey,  he  preached  at  Penny  Hill,  New  Mills, 
Cressey's,  Godfrey's,  and  Haddonfield,  where  he  found  dearth 
among  the  few  Methodists.  Passing  to  the  Peninsula,  he 
preached  for  the  first  time  in  Wesley  Chapel  in  Dover. 
Going  through  Queen  Anne's,  he  preached  for  the  first  time 
on  Kent  Island,  also  at  Colonel  Hopper's.  Here  he  found 
"  The  word  of  God  had  greatly  triumphed  over  the  prejudices 
of  the  rich  and  poor.  At  Cambridge,  he  found  George,  a 
poor  negro,  in  Methodist  society,  under  sentence  of  death 
for  theft  committed  before  he  was  a  Methodist.  He  was 
much  resigned  to  the  will  of  God, — he  was  reprieved  under 
the  gallows.  A  merchant  who  cursed  the  negro  for  praying, 
died  in  horror.  While  in  Dorset,  he  paid  his  first  visit  to 
Taylor's  Island.  Dorset  was  now  in  peace,  the  furies  had 
spent  their  wrath.  Going  to  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia, 
he  says,  "  Here  there  is  abundance  of  the  productions  of  the 
earth  and  sea.  The  people  are  well-featured,  good  livers, 
generous,  hospitable,  social,  and  polished  in  their  manners ; 
but  blind  in  spiritual  matters,  and  gay  in  life."  Many  of 
them  afterwards  became  light  in  the  Lord.  At  this  time, 
the  Rev.  Henry  Willis  was  preaching  for  them,  and  there  were 
about  a  hundred  in  society.  Coming  to  Snow  Hill,  the  judge 
of  the  court,  opened  the  court-house  for  him,  and  he  preached 
his  first  sermon  in  the  place,  to  a  large  congregation. 

In  1784,  Mr.  Pedicord  received  his  last  appointment  to  the 
Baltimore  Circuit. 


396  RISE    OF   METHODISM  [1784. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ware  appears  in  the  Minutes  of 
1784,  for  the  first  time.  Mr.  Ware  had  spent  half  of  the 
preceding  Conference  year  in  the  work.  This  year  he  was 
stationed  on  Kent  Circuit,  in  Maryland.  He  soon  found 
that  Kent,  like  Dover,  was  a  field  of  labor  where  he  could  be 
happy  and  useful.  Here  he  found  many  in  fellowship  with 
the  Methodists,  who  were  connected  with  the  first  families  on 
the  Peninsula.  Labor  was  sweet  to  him,  while  he  saw  the 
cause  of  the  Redeemer  prospering  ;  and  especially  among  the 
youths  of  this  circuit  he  was  much  encouraged  to  see  them 
coming  into  the  fold. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  this  year  he  had  a  very  remark- 
able meeting,  in  which  he  proved  the  truth  of  that  saying, 
"  My  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  He  was  labor- 
ing under  bodily  affliction  ;  and  having  heard  that  Mr.  Pedi- 
cord,  his  spiritual  father,  was  dead,  he  felt  a  wish,  if  such 
were  the  will  of  the  Lord,  that  he  might  follow  him  to  glory. 
In  this  state  of  mind  he  began  to  doubt  his  call  to  the  work, 
and  entertained  thoughts  of  going  home.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  such  reasoning  he  went  to  an  appointment  where 
very  few  usually  attended,  with  an  intention,  if  any  came 
out,  to  give  them  an  exhortation,  and  write  to  the  Conference 
that  he  declined  taking  an  appointment  for  the  ensuing  year. 
When  he  came  in  sight  of  the  place  he  saw  many  carriages, 
and  a  large  collection  of  people.  It  was  time  to  commence; 
and  he  felt  himself  wholly  unprepared  to  meet  the  people. 
He  concluded  that  he  would  open  his  Testament,  and  under- 
take to  speak  from  the  first  passage  that  struck  his  mind ; 
and  if  he  was  confounded  before  the  people,  he  would  regard 
it  as  an  evidence  that  he  had  mistaken  his  calling.  His  eye 
resting  on  these  words,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  he 
began  to  address  the  people ;  and  in  his  embarrassed  state 
of  feeling  his  tears  began  to  flow  freely ;  and  the  spirit  of 
weeping  began  to  run  through  the  congregation,  and  it  was 
deeply  touched.  Many  desired  to  be  present  in  the  class- 
meeting  who  were  not  members,  and  most  that  stayed  in  class 
united  with  the  Methodists.  Thus,  instead  of  encouraging 
his  half-formed  resolution  to  retire  from  the  work,  the  Lord 
renewed  his  commission  by  giving  him  that  day  a  goodly 
number  of  seals. 

It  was  during  this  year  that  he  first  heard  the  "  Divine, 
exclusive,  and  unchangeable  right  of  prelacy  preached  up," 
by  a  clergyman  direct  from  England,  who,  it  appears,  had 
more  of  the  learning  of  this  world  than  of  Divine  grace. 
In  his  discourse  he  gave  great  offence  to  his  hearers,  and 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  397 

prevented  his  being  settled  in  the  parish  by  advocating  the 
tithing  system  of  England,  as  being  more  in  accordance  with 
the  order  of  God  than  the  voluntary  S3^stem  that  generally 
prevailed  in  America;  and  by  his  severe  attack  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  calling  him  "The  prince  of  enthusiasts,"  and  his 
preachers  "babblers."  There  were  many  Methodists  out  to 
hear  him ;  and  in  the  midst  of  his  tirade  against  enthusiasm, 
a  highly  respectable  Methodist  lady  greatly  embarrassed  him 
by  shouting,  "  Glory  to  God !  if  what  I  now  feel  be  enthu- 
siasm, let  me  always  be  an  enthusiast !"     (Life  of  Ware.) 

In  1784,  Mr.  Lee  was  appointed  to  Salisbury  Circuit.  The 
following  extracts  will  show  how  much  he  was  in  the  spirit 
of  the  work :  "  I  preached  at  Hearn's  to  a  large  company 
of  solemn  hearers.  While  I  was  speaking  of  the  love  of 
God,  I  felt  so  much  of  it  in  my  own  soul  that  I  burst  into 
a  flood  of  tears,  and  for  some  time  stood  in  silence  and  wept. 
I  then  began  again ;  but  was  so  overcome  that  I  had  to  stop 
and  weep  several  times  before  I  finished  my  subject.  There 
were  very  few  dry  eyes  in  the  house.  The  next  day  I 
preached  with  many  tears  to  a  weeping  congregation  at  Bro- 
ther Carter's. 

"  I  preached  at  John  Randall's,  who  is  deaf  and  dumb, 
yet  can  pronounce  the  name  of  his  wife  and  the  name  of  his 
brother  ;  but  I  could  not  learn  that  he  ever  uttered  any  other 
words.  He  is  esteemed  a  pious  man,  and  by  signs  will  give 
a  good  experience  of  his  conviction,  conversion,  and  progress 
in  the  service  of  the  Lord,  and  of  his  pleasing  hope  of 
Heaven  when  he  leaves  the  world. 

"  At  Ledbetter's,  my  heart  was  greatly  affected,  and  my 
eyes  overflowed  with  tears.  The  hearers  were  so  much 
wrought  upon,  that  I  had  a  hope  of  seeing  some  of  them 
converted. 

"  At  Cole's  the  congregation  was  large.  In  class,  the 
friends  wept  greatly  while  they  heard  each  other  tell  of  the 
goodness  of  God  to  their  souls.  The  comfort  I  felt  that  day 
would  make  amends  for  the  suft'ering  of  a  thousand  troubles. 

"  I  was  sent  for  by  Mrs.  Parks,  who  was  very  ill,  and  un- 
prepared to  die.  She  exclaimed  against  herself,  saying,  *  I 
was  once  near  death,  and  I  promised  God,  that  if  he  would 
raise  me  up  I  would  serve  him.  But  as  soon  as  I  recovered 
I  was  as  careless  as  ever.'  To  her  husband  she  said,  '  Don't 
grieve  for  me  ;  we  cannot  stay  always  together ;  don't  do  as 
I  have  done,  by  putting  ofi"  repentance  for  a  death-bed.* 
She  then  requested  a  near  neighbor  of  hers  to  be  called  in. 
To  her  she  said,  '  I  thought  there  was  a  coolness  between  us; 
34 


308  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

and  I  want  to  die  in  peace  with  all  persons.'  She  then 
charged  her  husband  to  bring  up  her  children  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord,  and  keep  them  from  Sabbath-breaking.  Her 
words  affected  all  in  the  house  to  tears.  I  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  her  dying  unprepared.  I  therefore  knelt  down, 
and  prayed  for  her  again,  and  wept  before  the  Lord,  beseech- 
ing him  to  pardon  her  sins  before  she  left  the  world.  After 
prayer  she  looked  more  lively,  and  from  that  hour  began  to 
revive. 

"  I  preached  at  Jersey  meeting-house.  I  was  happy  in 
God.  After  preaching,  Col.  G.'s  wife  came  to  me,  and  began 
to  cry,  and  said,  '  I  am  the  worst  creature  in  the  world  ;  my 
heart  is  so  hard  I  don't  know  what  to  do ;'  and  begged  me 
to  pray  for  her. 

'- 1  preached  at  Tillman's.  There  was  a  gracious  move 
among  the  people.  I  wept  over  my  audience  for  some  time  ; 
none  but  God  knew  how  I  felt ;  my  heart  was  ready  to  break 
with  grief,  on  account  of  poor  sinners  that  were  perishing  in 
their  sins. 

"  I  preached  at  a  new  meeting-house  to  a  large  company. 
The  people  wept  greatly,  and  one  woman  professed  to  be 
converted. 

"  I  preached  at  Costus's,  and  held  a  love-feast.  All  eyes 
were  bathed  in  tears.  An  old  man  who  was  seeking  the 
Lord  rose  up  and  spoke,  while  tears  were  streaming  from  his 
eyes,  and  said,  '  I  am  almost  in  eternity,  and  am  not  pre- 
pared to  die;  and  you  may  judge  how  I  feel!'  It  was  a 
melting  time  to  all  present,  and  a  day  of  comfort  to  my 
soul." 

On  the  12th  December  he  was  officially  informed  that  Dr. 
Coke  had  arrived  in  America,  and  he  was  requested  to  attend 
the  Christmas  Conference ;  but  did  not  get  to  it  on  account 
of  the  shortness  of  the  notice,  the  distance,  and  ill  health. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

The  names  of  the  following  preachers  are  found  in  the 
Minutes  of  1T84,  as  having  been  received  on  trial :  John 
Robertson,  John  Philips,  Richard  Smith,  David  Jefferson, 
James  Riggin,  William  Lynch,  John  Fidler,  Simon  Pyle, 
Thomas  Jackson,  Elijah  Ellis,  John  Smith,  William  Jessup, 


1784.]  IN    AMERICA.  399 

Wilson  Lee,  Isaac  Smith,  and  Thomas  Ware.  As  Mr.  Ware 
had  travelled  half  of  the  preceding  year,  and  as  we  have 
given  his  labors  up  to  the  Christmas  Conference,  we  pass  to 
notice  the  others. 

John  Philips  supplied  a  vacancy  for  one  year. 

Richard  Smith  was  in  the  itinerancy  but  one  year. 

David  Jefferson  located,  after  two  years,  in  1786. 

John  Robertson  desisted,  after  three  years,  in  1787. 

John  Fidler,  most  likely  from  New  Jersey,  travelled  three 
years,  stopping  in  1787. 

James  Riggin,  probably  from  Somerset  county,  Md.,  located 
in  1790. 

Elijah  Ellis  was  in  the  work  four  years.  He  was  a  steady, 
solid,  humble,  diligent  minister,  who  spent  his  energies  in 
the  service  of  God.     He  died  in  Lancaster,  Va.,  in  1788. 

Simon  Pyle  located  in  1792,  making  New  Jersey  his  home. 
In  1806,  he  was  living  in  Lower  Freehold,  in  Monmouth 
county,  where  he  entertained  Bishop  Asbury. 

Thomas  Jackson  was  a  useful  preacher,  but  located  in 
1790.  It  seems  that  he  resumed  the  work  after  a  few  years, 
and  finally  stopped  in  1804. 

William  Lynch,  of  Baltimore  county,  Md.,  a  good  man 
and  a  good  preacher,  was  on  Kent  Circuit,  Md.,  in  1784 ;  he 
was  long  and  favorably  known  as  an  acceptable  local  preacher ; 
he  went  to  his  heavenly  reward  in  1806. 

Mr.  William  Jessup  was  a  native  of  Sussex  county,  Del., 
near  Bridgeville.  Mr.  Asbury  preached  the  funeral  of  Mrs. 
Jessup  in  1779.*  About  this  time  he  was  brought  to  God. 
His  father  was  an  ungodly  man,  and  opposed  his  son  in 
becoming  a  Methodist,  and  in  serving  God.  He  suffered  his 
son  to  go  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath-day  in  no  better  clothes 
than  he  allowed  his  negroes :  this  he  did  to  keep  him  away 
from  meetings ;  but,  however  coarse  or  ragged  his  apparel 
was,  he  was  found  worshipping  regularly  among  the  Method- 
ists. When  he  began  to  itinerate,  his  father,  though  a  large 
landholder,  refused  him  a  horse,  and  suitable  clothes  to 
appear  in  public  in.  His  brethren,  who  believed  God  had 
called  him  to  the  work,  gave  him  his  outfit.  He  labored  as 
an  itinerant  from  Virginia  to  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  a 
Christian  of  great  simplicity  and  sincerity.  lie  finished 
his  course  in  1795.  His  last  words  were,  "  My  work  is  done. 
Glory  !   Glory  !   Glory  !"  and  died  away.      He  is  interred  at 

*  Many  times  have  we  looked  upon  the  old  family  burying-ground 
of  the  Jessup  family,  on  the  farm  known  by  the  Indian  name,  "  At-te- 
watrta-co-quin.'^ 


400  RISE    OP    METHODISM  [1784. 

Beams's  Meeting-house,  In  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  where, 
probably,  he  died.  Mr.  Asbury  preached  his  funeral  in 
Dover,  Del.,  and  says,  "  I  received  the  last  loving  re- 
quest of  our  dear  Brother  Jessup,  that  I  should  preach  his 
funeral.  I  had  difficulties  in  speaking,  and  the  people  in 
hearing,  of  a  man  so  well  known  and  so  much  beloved.  He 
was  always  solemn ;  and  few  such  holy  steady  men  have  been 
found  among  us." 

Mr.  Wilson  Lee  was  born  in  1761,  near  Lewistown,  in 
Sussex  county,  Del.  He  was  some  of  the  first  fruits  of  the 
labors  of  Methodist  preachers  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
He  served  the  Church  in  New  England,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky. 

Mr.  Lee  was  an  attractive  and  interesting  preacher  wher- 
ever he  labored.  He  commenced  his  itinerant  labors  on  the 
Allegheny  Circuit.  In  1787,  he  went  to  Kentucky — follow- 
ing Haw  and  Ogden,  the  first  itinerants  in  that  new  country. 
Here  he  was  followed  by  crowds  of  all  classes  of  the  people, 
and  his  usefulness  was  equal  to  the  interest  he  created 
among  the  heterogeneous  mass  of  this  crude  community. 
While  preaching  here,  those  singular  events  took  place  which 
Mr.  Cartwright  has  put  down  on  p.  41  of  his  Life :  A  poor 
inebriate  went  to  hear  Mr.  Lee  preach.  Having  lost 
his  rest  the  previous  night,  he  was  drowsy  and  fell  to  nod- 
ding under  the  sermon ;  a  pet  lamb  of  the  house  that  had 
been  taught  to  butt,  regarded  his  nodding  as  a  banter,  and 
accepting  the  challenge  ran  up  to  him,  striking  his  head,  and 
knocking  him  from  his  seat  to  the  floor,  which  excited  the 
risibilities  of  the  congregation,  and  well  nigh  upset  the 
gravity  of  the  preacher. 

A  Dutchman,  less  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  Scrip- 
ture than  the  troubles  of  Socrates  with  his  Xantippe,  had 
heard  him  preach  on  "  Denying  himself,  and  taking  up  his 
cross  and  following  Christ."  Mr.  Lee,  on  his  way  to  his 
Sabbath  afternoon  appointment,  overtook  this  man  carrying 
his  wife  on  his  back.  Unable  to  imagine  why  a  little  man 
should  bear  a  large  woman  on  his  shoulders  unless  she  was 
sick,  he  inquired  into  the  cause  of  the  conduct,  and  v/as 
answered,  "  You  told  us  to-day  that  we  must  take  up  our 
cross  and  bear  it,  if  we  would  go  to  heaven  !  My  wife  is  the 
greatest  cross  I  have,  and  as  I  wish  to  get  to  heaven,  there- 
fore I  take  her  up  and  bear  her."  Mr.  Lee  had  to  re-explain 
his  text  to  him  on  a  log  by  the  way-side. 

In  1794,  he  labored  in  New  England.     Being  invited,  he 


1784.]  IN    AMERICA.  401 

went  to  Middle  Haddam,  and  preached  in  a  stone  house  near 
the  ferry.  Under  the  pungent  discourse  the  people  trembled 
and  wept, — some  fell  to  the  floor  and  cried  for  mercy, — 
others  fled  out  of  the  house  in  aff'right.  Mr.  Lee,  seeing  the 
eff"ect  the  sermon  had  produced,  stood  and  shouted,  "  Glory 
to  God!"  Those  who  had  ran  away,  went  home  declaring, 
*'  That  the  devil  was  among  the  people  in  the  stone  house." 
(Stevens's  "Memorials,"  pp.  304-5.) 

When  Mr.  Lee  was  about  to  leave  New  London,  in  Con- 
necticut, to  go  to  New  York,  a  special  Providence  directed 
him  to  Southold,  on  Long  Island,  where  he  introduced 
Methodism.  He  had  put  his  trunk  on  board  a  vessel  to  sail 
to  his  appointment  in  New  York,  but  contrary  winds  pre- 
vented his  going  for  a  night.  A  Mrs.  Moore,  who  had 
become  happy  in  religion,  through  Methodist  preaching,  had 
moved  to  Southold,  where,  as  yet,  no  Methodist  preaching 
had  been.  Finding  two  females  in  Southold  of  her  own 
spirit,  they  agreed  to  meet  every  Monday  evening,  to  pray 
that  God  would  send  such  ministers  among  them  as  would 
prove  a  blessing  to  them  and  others.  For  two  evenings  they 
met  for  prayer  at  the  house  of  P.  Vail.  On  the  third 
Monday  evening  of  their  meeting,  Mr.  Vail's  circumstances 
made  it  inconvenient  for  them  to  have  their  prayers  in  his 
house, — this  was  the  very  evening  Mr.  Lee's  trunk  was  on 
board  the  vessel.  On  this  evening  the  three  women  agreed 
to  return  to  their  individual  homes,  and  press  the  matter 
before  God  in  prayer;  on  which  occasion  they  had  uncommon 
freedom  in  prayer,  especially  Mrs.  Moore,  who  continued  in 
the  exercise  until  near  midnio-ht ;  and  she  felt  an  assurance 
that  God  had  heard  them,  and  would  answer  their  prayer 
speedily,  and  began  to  praise  God  for  what  she  felt  He  would 
do.  The  same  night,  Mr.  Lee,  in  New  London,  felt  an 
unusual  struggle  in  his  soul,  attended  with  a  continued 
impression  to  cross  the  Sound  to  Long  Island,  until  he 
resolved  if  there  were  an  opportunity  he  would  follow  this 
impression.  On  going  to  the  wharf  next  morning,  he  found 
a  sloop  ready  to  sail  to  Southold,  and  went  on  board.  When 
he  landed  he  inquired  for  praying  people,  and  was  directed 
to  Mrs.  Moore's  house.  Soon  as  she  saw  him  she  knew  he 
was  a  Methodist  minister,  and  hailed  him  as  '•  the  blessed  of 
the  Lord."  A  congregation  was  convened, — a  sermon  was 
preached, — and  soon  a  class  was  formed,  and  Methodism  has 
been  in  the  place  ever  since.  (See  Garrettson's  Life,  pp. 
183-4.) 

As  a  minister  of  Christianity,  he  went  to  the  grave  without 
34* 


402  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

a  blot  or  stain  upon  his  unsullied  character.  His  Presiding 
Elder,  afterwards  Bishop  George,  preached  and  published 
his  funeral  discourse. 

He  stood  high  as  a  Christian,  and  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  His  slender  constitution  yielded  to  his  toils,  and 
while  praying  with  a  sick  friend  he  began  to  discharge  blood; 
and  it  was  thought,  that  a  large  blood-vessel  broke,  and  he 
was  suffocated  with  his  blood,  and  died  suddenly  at  the  house 
of  Walter  Worthington,  in  Anne  Arundel  county,  Md.,  in 
1804.  He  will,  we  doubt  not,  receive  a  kingdom  and  a 
crown. 

Mr.  John  Smith  was  a  native  of  Kent  county,  Md.,  born 
in  1758,  and  was  converted  to  God  in  1780.  He  travelled 
and  preached  ten  or  twelve  years,  and  then  became  super- 
numerary, and  afterwards  superannuated,  until  his  death  in 
1812.  His  dying  language  was,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly,  take  my  enraptured  soul  away.  I  am  not  afraid  to 
die.  I  long  to  be  dissolved,  and  see  my  Saviour  without  a 
dimming  vail  between, — death  has  lost  his  sting."  He  died 
in  Chestertown,  after  a  long  and  severe  illness,  in  his  fifty- 
fifth  year ;  and  his  dust  sleeps  at  Hinson's  Chapel,  near  the 
great  and  good  William  Gill's. 

Although  Kent  was  the  first  county  on  the  Eastern  Shore 
of  Maryland  that  was  favored  with  Methodist  preaching 
(having,  as  is  believed,  been  visited  by  Mr.  Strawbridge),  it 
has  not  furnished  many  Methodist  preachers.  Brother  Smith, 
it  seems,  was  among  the  first  from  this  county. 

Mr.  Isaac  Smith  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  This  year  Tie 
was  with  the  Kev.  Jesse  Lee,  on  Salisbury  Circuit,  N.  C.  In 
1786  he  formed  Edisto  Circuit.  In  this  region  the  name  Meth- 
odist was  scarcely  known  until  he  visited  it.  The  new  name, 
and  his  heart-searching  preaching,  caused  much  stir  among 
the  people,  as  they  had  heard  but  little  preaching  before, 
and  knew  nothing  of  experimental  religion.  Many  were  con- 
victed and  converted,  and  a  number  of  societies  were  formed. 
It  was  no  uncommon  event  for  persons  to  fall  under  his  pun- 
gent preaching,  as  suddenly  as  if  they  had  been  shot ;  and 
after  they  had  lain  for  some  time  on  the  ground,  or  floor,  to 
rise  and  praise  God,  for  giving  them  the  evidence  of  pardon. 
This  caused  gainsayers  to  declare  that  the  people  were  run 
mad  ;  and  the  Methodists  were  the  deceivers  spoken  of  in 
the  New  Testament.  The  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  was  no 
better  understood  by  the  people  then,  than  it  w^as  by  Nico- 
demus,  until  they  were  enlightened  by  his  preaching.  The 
pioneer  of  Methodism  not  only  has  to  take  people  as  he  finds 


1784.]  IN  AMERICA.  403 

them,  but  the  gold  has  to  be  worked  out  of  the  ore.  When 
Mr.  Smith  was  forming  Edisto  Circuit,  a  gentleman  who  was 
not  a  professor  of  religion,  invited  him  to  his  house.  lie 
visited  him ;  and  while  at  his  house,  the  gentleman  observed 
that  he  frequently  retired  into  the  woods.  Thinking  that  he 
thus  went  into  secret  places  for  mischief  or  wickedness,  he, 
on  one  occasion,  followed  him  as  a  spy  ;  when,  to  his  great 
astonishment,  he  found  him  on  his  knees,  engaged  in  fervent 
prayer  !  This  struck  the  gentleman  under  conviction  ;  and 
was  the  cause  of  his  embracing  religion  soon  after.  The 
happy  mixture  of  dignity,  pleasantness,  and  meekness  in  his 
countenance  was  calculated  to  win  the  good  opinion  of  such 
as  beheld  him,  with  the  exception  of  such  as  were  determined 
to  dislike  any  one  called  a  Methodist.  His  appearance  and 
his  manners  qualified  him  for  the  missionary  work  ;  and 
many  of  those  whom  he  found  dead  in  sin,  and  their  tongues 
defiled  with  most  profane  language,  he  soon  rejoiced  to  hear 
their  redeemed  tongues  praising  God.  He,  like  most  of  his 
brethren  that  were  engaged  in  planting  Methodism,  did  not 
weary  his  congregations  with  dry  and  tedious  discourses; 
but  their  sermons  were  short  and  energetic :  enforcing  their 
preaching  with  the  most  sedate  and  consistent  deportment 
in  the  families  where  they  sojourned,  always  praying  with 
and  for  them,  if  permitted  so  to  do ;  and  speaking  to  each 
individual  of  the  family  on  the  great  matter  of  his  or  her 
salvation.  Such  were  our  fathers  !  Those  that  embraced 
religion  under  these  servants  of  God  were  taught  to  cast 
off  all  needless  ornaments,  and  lay  aside  costly  apparel ;  and 
become  imitators  of  their  spiritual  guides  in  plainness  and 
neatness  of  dress.  The  principles  of  Christianity  were  so 
deeply  fixed  in  them,  that  they  seemed  to  have  no  desire  to 
exemplify  the  principles  of  a  wicked  world,  or  show  off  the 
pride  of  life.  Having  worn  himself  down  in  the  work,  he 
located  and  entered  into  the  mercantile  business,  in  Camden, 
S.  C.  While  engaged  in  this  calling,  some  of  his  professed 
friends  advised  him  to  keep  ardent  spirits  for  sale,  as  a 
means  of  increasing  his  business.  His  reply  was,  "  If  I 
cannot  get  people  to  go  to  heaven,  I  will  not  be  the  means 
of  carrying  them  to  hell." 

In  1820,  he  re-entered  the  work  ;  but  had  to  retire  from 
effective  service  again  in  1827.  In  the  last  of  his  days,  he 
was  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  South  Carolina  Conference 
— most  beloved,  and  most  honored  by  the  preachers.  Full 
of  faith  and  of  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost — meek  beyond 
the  reach  of  provocation,  breathing  the  spirit  of  devotion — 


404  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

he  was  a  saint  indeed.  He  died  of  a  cancer,  July  20,  1834, 
in  his  seventy-sixth  year ;  having  been  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  for  more  than  fifty  years. 

During  this  year,  Dr.  Coke  and  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and 
Vasey  came  to  America  ;  and  the  result  was  the  forming 
of  the  Methodists  into  a  Church,  and  receiving  what  they 
had  much  and  long  wanted,  namely,  the  ordinances  of 
Christianity. 

Mr.  Thomas  Vasey,  of  England,  became  an  orphan  while 
young,  and  was  educated  under  the  care  of  an  uncle.  He 
was  brought  up  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  his  religious 
training  was  so  strict  as  to  preserve  him  from  gross  immo- 
rality. It  seems  that  it  was  the  intention  of  his  childless 
uncle  to  make  him  his  heir,  in  sole,  or  in  part,  of  his  estate, 
which  was  considerable.  But  as  Mr.  Vasey  united  with  the 
Methodists  as  he  sprung  into  manhood,  his  uncle  required 
him  to  renounce  his  connection  with  them,  or  be  disinherited 
by  him.  Both  remained  firm  in  their  purpose :  young  Vasey 
kept  to  the  Methodists,  and  his  uncle  bestowed  his  property 
on  others.  Mr.  Vasey,  having  been  received  by  Mr.  Wesley 
as  a  travelling  preacher,  was  during  this  year  ordained  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  assisted  by  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Creighton — all 
presbyters  of  the  Church  of  England — both  deacon  and 
elder.  He  did  not  remain  long  in  America.  The  few. years 
that  he  was  here,  he  acted  as  elder  at  the  head  of  a  district. 
Before  he  returned  to  England  he  was  ordained,  or  re- 
ordained,  by  Bishop  White  of  Pennsylvania.  When  he 
reached  England,  he  was  allowed  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  accept 
an  English  curacy ;  but,  in  1789,  he  returned  to  the  itiner- 
ant work,  in  which  he  continued  as  a  zealous  and  successful 
laborer,  until  1811.  From  this  year  until  his  death,  he  con- 
tinued to  perform  the  liturgical  services  in  the  City-Road 
Chapel,  London. 

When  age  and  infirmity  obliged  him  to  be  supernumerary, 
he  made  Leeds  his  residence,  on  account  of  superior  advan- 
tages from  the  means  of  grace  in  which  his  soul  delighted, 
which  he  expected  to  enjoy  there.  He  lived  but  a  few  months 
after  he  made  Leeds  his  home:  he  died  suddenly  in  1826,  in 
his  eighty-first  year.  "  His  Christian  simplicity,  pious  con- 
versation, his  fervency  and  diligence  in  praj^er,  were  highly 
observable  and  exemplary :  for  some  time  previous  to  his 
death,  nearly  one-third  of  his  time  appeared  to  be  spent  in 
prayer." 

Mr.  Richard  Whatcoat,  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  What- 
coat, was  born  in  the  parish  of   Quinton,  Gloucestershire, 


1784.]  IN    AMERICA.  405 

England,  February  23,  1736.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Taylor,  tho 
parish  minister,  was  a  converted  man  ;  and  under  his  minis- 
try the  Whatcoat  family  became  pious :  the  parents  left  the 
children,  at  death,  a  hope  that  they  had  gone  to  rest  with 
Jesus.  The  children  were  all  brought  under  a  wonderful 
work  of  grace  about  the  same  time  of  life.  Mr.  Whatcoat 
had  so  much  of  the  fear  of  God  before  him  from  the  days 
of  his  childhood,  as  to  keep  him  from  gross  sin.  In  1758  he 
began  to  attend  Methodist  preaching  regularly.  He  was 
soon  convinced  that  he  needed  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  to 
make  him  a  scriptural  Christian.  In  the  light  of  truth  he 
soon  became  so  miserable,  that  he  scarcely  had  an  hour's 
sound  sleep  in  a  night.  As  he  was  reading  the  Scriptures, 
he  read,  "  The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirits, 
that  we  are  the  children  of  God."  In  a  moment  his  darkness 
was  removed,  and  he  was  filled  with  peace  and  joy ;  and  the 
Spirit  did  bear  witness  with  his  spirit  that  he  was  a  child  of 
God.  In  1761,  he  was  filled  with  perfect  love,  "  rejoicing 
evermore,  and  in  everything  giving  thanks."  For  about 
eight  years  he  was  a  class-leader,  band-leader,  and  steward 
of  the  society  in  Wednesbury.  This  was  the  mother  society 
of  Stafi'ordshire — and  it  w^as  a  model  society — the  original 
society  had  been  purified  in  the  fire  of  persecution.  In  1767 
he  began  to  hold  religious  meetings.  The  encouragement 
he  met  with  in  this  exercise,  led  him  to  give  himself  up  wholly 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry ;  and  in  1769,  he  was  received 
as  a  travelling  preacher. 

For  fifteen  years  he  continued  in  this  work  under  the  eye 
of  Mr.  Wesley.  In  some  of  the  circuits  his  labor  and  sufi'er- 
ings  were  great.  While  travelling  the  Inniskillen  Circuit,  in 
Ireland,  it  took  him  eight  weeks  to  go  round  it,  preaching 
two  and  three  times  a  day,  besides  meeting  the  societies,  and 
visiting  the  sick.  This  year's  labor  greatly  exhausted  him, 
but  he  was  cheered  by  a  blessed  revival,  in  which  about  three 
hundred  were  added  to  the  societies.  The  following  year, 
while  travelling  through  Armagh  Circuit,  he  was  brought  to 
the  gate  of  death,  by  bleeding  at  the  nose,  night-sweats,  and 
loss  of  appetite.  His  flesh  consumed  away,  his  sight  failed 
him,  and  in  this  condition  he  lay  twelve  weeks.  When  sent 
to  travel  the  Lynn  Circuit,  in  England,  he  sold  his  horse  and 
walked  the  circuit.  His  last  year  in  England  he  had  the 
Rev.  Adam  Clark  for  a  colleague. 

In  1784,  Mr.  Shadford  expressed  a  desire  that  he  should 
come  to  America.  While  he  was  meditating  on  the  matter, 
the  power  of  God  came  upon  him,  and  his  heart  was  melted 


406  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

"with  love  to  God  and  man.  He  was  ordained  deacon  and 
elder  at  the  same  time  with  Mr.  Vasey,  and  by  the  same 
presbytery,  namely,  Messrs.  Wesley,  Coke,  and  Creighton. 
Embarking  at  Bristol,  Eng.,  after  a  passage  of  six  weeks,  he 
landed  in  New  York,  but  hastened  on  to  Philadelphia,  which 
he  pronounced  one  of  the  best  constructed  cities  he  ever  saw. 
On  a  borrowed  horse  he  rode  to  Wilmington,  thence  to  Duck 
Creek  Cross  Roads,  now  Smyrna,  housing  with  John  Cole. 
From  here  to  Dover,  where  he  received  a  hearty  welcome 
from  Mr.  Bassett.  His  next  stage  brought  him  to  Barratt's 
Chapel. 

Mr.  Thomas  Coke  was  born  at  Brecon,  in  South  Wales, 
in  1747.  His  father,  Bartholomew  Coke,  Esq.,  was  an  emi- 
nent surgeon,  and  a  much  respected  gentleman.  Several 
times  he  filled  the  office  of  chief  magistrate  of  the  town.  His 
mother's  name  was  Ann  Phillips,  daughter  of  Thomas  Phillips, 
Esq.  As  Thomas  was  their  only  child,  and  as  they  were  in 
affluent  circumstances,  they  designed  to  give  him  a  liberal 
education ;  but  his  father  dying  while  he  was  young,  it  was 
left  to  his  mother  to  attend  to  his  education.  She  lived  to 
see  her  son  connected  with  the  Methodists,  and  she  also  died 
a  member  of  the  same  religious  society  in  the  city  of  Bristol, 
England. 

Having  received  a  preparatory  education,  her  son  entered 
Jesus  College,  Oxford,  in  his  seventeenth  year.  As  many 
of  the  students  of  the  institution  were  infidel  in  principle, 
and  licentious  in  practice,  Thomas,  though  a  believer  in  the 
Bible,  found  himself  unprepared  to  meet  the  attacks  of  his 
fellow-students  on  the  Scriptures,  as  he  had  not,  as  yet, 
acquainted  himself  with  the  evidence  of  their  divine  author- 
ity. The  result  was,  that  he  became  sceptical  and  more  cor- 
rupt in  his  morals.  In  seeking  happiness  in  dissipation,  he 
found  disappointment :  he  had  to  endure  the  rebukes  of  his 
conscience  while  pursuing  his  most  pleasing  amusements. 
While  halting  between  infidelity  and  Christianity,  he  resolved 
to  visit  a  distinguished  clergyman  in  Wales,  to  whom  he 
listened,  on  the  followino;  Sabbath,  with  much  attention.  As 
the  subject  was  presented  in  a  pleasing  and  masterly  manner, 
by  the  minister,  young  Coke  began  to  feel  his  infidelity 
shaken.  But,  on  his  return  from  church,  how  great  was  his 
surprise  and  disgust,  while  complimenting  the  sermon,  and 
hinting  at  his  state  of  mind,  and  the  effect  the  discourse  had 
produced  on  it,  on  hearing  the  clergyman  declare  that  he  did 
not  believe  what  he  had  that  day  preached. 

On  returning  to  Oxford,  he  resolved  to  be  either  a  con- 


1784.]  IN    AMERICA.  407 

firmed  believer  in  the  Bible,  or  an  open  infidel.  Providen- 
tially he  read,  with  close  attention,  Bishop  Sherlock's  ser- 
mons, which  scattered  the  mist  of  infidelity  from  his  mind, 
and  made  him  a  true  believer  in  Christianity,  so  far  as  its 
theory  was  concerned.  Soon  after  he  read  a  treatise  on 
regeneration,  which  convinced  him  that  he  lacked  the  religion 
of  the  heart.  Leaving  his  infidel  companions  and  practices, 
he  turned  his  energies  to  the  acquirement  of  such  knowledge 
as  would  make  him  a  useful  minister  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  was  chosen  a  common  coun- 
cil-man for  the  borough  of  Brecon ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  he  was  elected  chief  magistrate  of  the  same  borough, 
and  filled  the  office  with  great  reputation.  In  1775,  he  took 
out  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Laws. 

Having  received  ordination  from  the  Church  of  England, 
he  was  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  a  clergyman. 
After  waiting  a  few  years,  he  obtained  the  curacy  of  South 
Petherton,  in  Somersetshire.  On  entering  upon  the  discharge 
of  the  new  duties  of  his  work,  although  still  destitute  of  the 
religion  of  the  heart,  the  animated  manner  in  which  he  pre- 
sented the  great  truth  of  Christianity,  soon  attracted  more 
than  ordinary  congregations.  His  sense  of  his  need  of 
divine  light  and  grace  led  him  to  pray  earnestly  for  aid  from 
on  high,  and  he  fully  felt  the  necessity  of  being  born  of  God. 
The  state  of  his  soul  was  visible  in  his  conversation  and  ser- 
mons. His  hearers  were  often  deeply  affected  under  his  preach- 
ing, and  the  church  became  too  small  to  accommodate  them. 
Unable  to  have  it  enlarged  at  public  expense,  he  used  his 
own  funds,  and  had  a  gallery  put  in  it. 

As  things  were  taking  this  direction,  some  of  the  knowing 
ones  of  his  parish  began  to  whisper  to  others,  that  their  new 
curate  was  tainted  with  Methodism ;  and  although,  up  to 
this  time,  he  had  no  intercourse  with  the  Methodists,  they 
soon  bestowed  the  epithet  upon  him.  Soon  after  this  Dr. 
Coke  was  visited  by  Mr.  Thomas  Maxfield,  one  of  Mr. 
\\'^esley's  earliest  lay-preachers,  who,  through  Mr.  Wesley's 
influence,  had  been  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  Londonderry, 
soon  after  which  he  withdrew  from  the  Methodists,  and  now 
resided  as  an  independent  minister,  near  South  Petherton. 
Their  conversation  was  on  the  important  subject  of  the  new 
birth,  as  the  source  of  a  godly  life.  By  this  and  subsequent 
conversations.  Dr.  Coke  became  much  enlightened  as  to 
true  religion.  About  this  time  he  read  "  Alien's  Alarm  to 
the  Unconverted,"  and   from  this  time   he  was  an  earnest 


408  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

seeker  of  a  change  of  heart,  until  he  was  made  to  rejoice  in 
the  love  of  God. 

Mr.  Fletcher's  "Appeal,"  and  his  "  Checks  to  Antinomian- 
ism,"  having  been  put  into  his  hand  by  a  pious  minister  of  the 
Established  Church,  gave  him  a  bias  in  favor  of  the  system 
of  doctrine  taught  by  Mr.  Wesley.  About  the  same  time  he 
visited  a  respectable  family  in  Devonshire,  where  he  found  a 
poor,  but  pious  laboring  man,  who  was  a  Methodist  class- 
leader.  With  this  rustic.  Dr.  Coke  had  several  conversa- 
tions on  the  manner  in  which  a  sinner  must  come  to  God, — 
the  nature  of  pardon,  and  the  evidence  accompanying  it  by 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit.  They  also  joined  in  prayer. 
Here  was  a  "Master  in  Israel,"  gladly  receiving  instruction 
from  a  peasant,  who  gave  him  such  an  account  of  the  Meth- 
odists, as  brought  him  to  the  resolve  to  disregard  the  strange 
reports  that  he  had  heard  about  them,  and  become  better 
acquainted  with  them.  He  not  only  preached  in  the  church, 
but  lectured  on  weekday  evenings  for  the  benefit  of  the  aged 
and  infirm,  who  could  not  attend  at  church.  It  was  while 
preaching  to  his  little  flock  in  the  country  whither  he  had 
walked,  that  God  was  pleased  to  speak  peace  to  his  soul, 
dispel  his  fears,  and  fill  his  heart  with  joy  unspeakable. 
He  announced  from  his  pulpit  the  blessing  he  had  received, 
laid  aside  his  written  discourses,  and  began  to  preach 
extemporaneously,  and  under  his  first  extemporary  discourse 
three  souls  were  awakened. 

Three  years  he  had  been  laboring  in  his  parish,  before  he 
received  the  blessing  of  pardon.  The  course  he  was  now 
pursuing,  preaching  without  a  b^ok  ;  his  earnest  manner, 
his  plain  reproofs,  and  his  evening  lectures  in  the  village ; 
gave  offence,  and  the  parish  was  in  a  ferment.  He  had  also 
introduced  into  the  church,  the  practice  of  singing  hymns. 
To  put  an  end  to  these  irregularities,  a  charge  was  made  out 
against  him  and  laid  before  the  Bishop,  who  did  not  even 
notify  the  Doctor  of  the  charge,  and  it  slept  in  silence.  A 
second  application  to  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells  met  with 
no  better  success.  His  enemies  next  applied  to  the  rector 
of  the  parish,  who  promised  to  dismiss  him.  The  matter 
was  secretly  consummated,  the  Doctor  was  abruptly  dis- 
missed before  the  people,  he  not  having  received  an  intima- 
tion of  it,  and  to  complete  his  disgrace ;  the  parish  bells 
chimed  him  out  of  doors. 

The  greatest  trouble  that  this  caused  him  to  feel,  arose 
from  the  fact  that  the  precipitancy  of  the  measure  had  not 
allowed  him  the  opportunity  of  preaching  a  farewell  sermon, 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  409 

to  a  people  whom  he  might  never  address  again.  His 
friends  advised  him  to  attend  the  church  on  the  following 
Sabbaths,  and  address  the  people  as  they  were  leaving  the 
church.  This  advice  was  followed,  and  he  was  permitted  to 
conclude  his  discourse  in  peace.  On  announcing  to  preach 
there  the  next  Sabbath,  his  enemies  declared  they  would 
stone  him.  At  the  time,  the  Doctor  and  his  friends  were  on 
the  spot.  They  found  magazines  of  stones  collected  to  pelt 
him  with.  Among  his  friends  were  a  Mr.  Edmons  and  his 
sister,  of  a  highly  respectable  family  near  Petherton.  These 
stood  on  either  side  of  him,  other  friends  surrounded  them, 
and  he  was  permitted  to  finish  his  discourse  in  peace ;  after 
which  he  was  kindly  invited  to  go  home  with  Mr.  and  Miss 
Edmons,  though  they  belonged  to  a  dissenting  family.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  years  a  great  change  was  effected  in  the 
minds  of  his  enemies,  for  in  the  year  1780  he  came  to 
Petherton,  and  met  a  very  different  reception.  Some  of  his 
former  adversaries  said,  "  Well,  we  chimed  him  out,  and  now 
we  will  atone  for  our  error  by  ringing  him  in." 

Dr.  Coke  connected  himself  with  Mr.  Wesley  about 
the  year  1777.  The  following  year  he  was  stationed  in 
London,  where  his  congregations  were  large,  and  his  success 
was  very  encouraging :  the  Methodists  of  the  metropolis 
having  heard  of  his  conversion, — his  ill  treatment  at  Pether- 
ton,— his  energetic  preaching, — were  prepared  to  expect 
much  from  him,  and,  it  seems,  they  were  not  disappointed. 

After  he  had  labored  with  Mr.  Wesley  for  about  seven 
years,  he  was  made  acquainted  with  Mr.  Wesley's  wish  that 
he  should  come  to  America.  After  the  Doctor  had  considered 
the  proposition,  and  yielded  assent  to  it,  he  met  Mr.  Wesley 
at  Bristol,  where  he  was  set  apart,  by  Mr.  Wesley,  assisted 
by  Mr.  Creighton,  for  the  office  of  superintendent  or  bishop 
over  the  Methodists,  in  the  United  States  of  America.  In 
September,  1784,  he  set  sail,  and  landed  in  New  York  on 
the  3d  day  of  November,  and  was  kindly  entertained  by 
Brother  Sands.  Reaching  Philadelphia,  he  was  taken  to 
the  house  of  Brother  Jacob  Baker,  a  merchant.  Here 
he  spent  his  first  Sabbath  in  America,  preaching  for  Dr. 
M'Gaw  at  St.  Paul's,  and  at  St.  George's.  Going  down 
to  the  Peninsula,  he  was  entertained  by  Mrs.  Whithey  at 
Old  Chester.  Thence  to  Wilmington,  to  Duck  Creek  Cross 
Roads,  to  Mr.  Bassett's,  and  to  Barratt's  Chapel. 


35 


410-  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1784. 


CHAPTER   LXI. 

The  quarterly  meeting  which  Messrs.  Coke,  Whatcoat,  and 
Vasey  attended  at  Barratt's  Chapel,  at  this  time,  was  the 
fifth  regular  fall  quarterly  meeting  held  in  the  chapel,  at 
which  the  semi-annual  change  took  place  among  the  preachers 
laboring  on  the  Peninsula.  Most  of  the  preachers  were  pre- 
sent, and  a  large  attendance  of  the  laity.  Dr.  Coke  preached 
on  "  Christ  our  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and 
redemption." 

We  left  Mr.  Asbury  at  Snow  Hill,  where  he  preached  the 
previous  Sabbath.  The  first  knowledge  that  he  had  of  Dr. 
Coke  and  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and  Vasey's  being  in  America, 
was,  when  he  arrived  at  the  chapel.  The  doctor  had  scarcely 
finished  his  discourse,  when  Mr.  Asbury  came  into  the  con- 
gregation. They  were  personally  unknown  to  each  other. 
"  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  a  solemn  pause  and  a  deep 
silence  ensued,  as  an  interval  for  introduction  and  salutation. 
Mr.  Asbury  ascended  the  pulpit,  and,  w^ithout  making  him- 
self known  by  words,  clasped  the  doctor  in  his  arms,  and 
accosted  him  with  the  holy  salutation  of  primitive  Christi- 
anity. The  other  preachers  participating  in  the  tender  sen- 
sibilities of  these  salutations,  were  melted  into  tears.  The 
congregation  caught  the  glowing  emotion,  and  the  whole 
assembly,  as  if  struck  with  a  shock  of  heavenly  electricity, 
burst  into  a  flood  of  tears."     (Cooper  on  Asbury.) 

The  sacrament  was  administered  at  this  meeting,  and  when 
Mr.  Asbury  saw  Mr.  Vr^hatcoat  take  the  cup  to  the  commu- 
nicants, not  knowing  that  he  had  been  ordained  in  Enghind, 
he  was  shocked.  The  doctor  and  eleven  preachers  dined  at 
the  widow  Barratt's.  The  object  of  his  visit  was  made 
known.  The  preachers  conferred  together,  and  it  was  agreed 
upon  to  call  all  the  preachers  together  in  Baltimore,  on  the 
following  Christmas,  to  carry  out  Mr.  Wesley's  plan.  Mr. 
Garrettson  was  sent  off  to  call  the  preachers  together. 
In  about  six  weeks  he  travelled  twelve  hundred  miles,  and 
brought  about  sixty  of  them  together. 

Before  Dr.  Coke"  left  Barratt's  Chapel,  he  baptized  sixteen 
people.  As  it  was  Mr.  Asbury's  wish  that  the  doctor  should  go 
upon  the  route  which  he  had  just  been  over,  he  provided  him 
with  the  means  of  conveyance,  and  "  Harry"  to  accompany 
him.     He  had  one  or  two  services  each  day.     The  morning 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  411 

meeting  began  at  twelve  of  the  clock,  or  at  noon,  and  lasted 
from  three  to  six  hours.  Every  day  seemed  like  a  Sabbath 
day,  on  account  of  the  large  number  of  people  that  came 
together  to  hear  preaching,  but  more  especially  to  receive 
baptism  and  the  eucharist,  which  he  administered  each  day 
where  there  was  a  Methodist  society.  The  scenery  of 
America  had  its  effect  upon  him.  He  observed  that  most  of 
the  chapels  were  in  groves.  Coming  to  them  he  saw  many 
horses  hitched  to  the  trees,  and  vast  multitudes  of  people 
assembled  in  the  woods.  To  his  mind  such  scenes  were 
invested  with  solemn  grandeur.  His  first  appointment  was 
at  Judge  White's  Chapel.  His  second,  at  White  Brown's 
Meeting-house,  in  North  West  Fork.  Next  at  Moore's 
Chapel  in  Broad  Creek.  Saturday  and  Sunday,  at  Quantico 
Chapel ;  here  he  was  entertained  by  a  widow  Walters,  of 
wealth,  though  no  Methodist.  Next  at  Annamessex  Chapel. 
Then  down  to  the  Lower  Chapel.  Thence  to  Downing's, 
Burton's,  Paramore's,  Burton's,  Garrettson's,  Accomac  Court- 
house, John  Purnell's,  in  Worcester  county,  Snow  Hill 
Court-house,  Elijah  Laws,  in  Indiantown,  Line  Chapel,  Mr. 
Airey's  in  Dorchester  county.  Colonel  Vickar's ;  Sunday,  at 
Cambridge  ;  here  the  ladies  wanted  the  church  opened  for 
him,  but  the  gentlemen  locked  it,  and  took  the  key  away. 
Next,  at  Bolingbroke,  in  Talbot,  housing  with  Dr.  Allen,  *'  a 
precious  man."  Thence  to  the  Bay-side,  in  a  large  church. 
Then  to  Tuckeyhoe  Chapel,  Col.  Hopper's,  and  Kent  Island 
— here  the  man  who  invited  him,  shut  the  church  upon  him. 
Next,  at  Brother  Chair's.  Thence  to  Church  Hill,  where,  by 
invitation  of  the  vestry,  he  preached  in  the  church.  Sunday, 
12th  of  December,  at  Chestertown  Chapel.  Next,  at  Kent 
and  Werton  Chapels.  From  here  to  Gunpowder  Chapel. 
Next,  at  J.  Dallam's,  at  Abingdon.  And  on  the  17th  of  De- 
cember, at  Henry  Dorsey  Gough's  elegant  mansion. 

From  Barratt's  Chapel,  Mr.  Whatcoat,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Asbury,  moved  for  the  Western  Shore  of  Maryland, 
visiting  Dover  and  Bohemia  Manor,  where  they  fell  in  with 
Mr.  Vasey.  During  this  week  they  attended  a  quarterly 
meeting  at  Deer  Creek.  He  visited  and  preached  at  Messrs. 
Dalkm's,  Grover's,  Watters's,  Cromwell's,  Hunt's  Chapel, 
Baltimore,  and  Abingdon,  where  he  received  a  pleasing 
account  of  the  work  of  God  in  Nova  Scotia,  from  the  Rev. 
William  Black,  whom  he  met  here ;  and  on  the  19th  of  De- 
cember, met  the  preachers  at  Mr.  Gough's. 

Mr.  Asbury  attended  quarterly  meetings  on  Frederick 
and  Calvert  Circuits.     That  he  might  know  the  will  of  God, 


412  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

as  to  the  matter  that  was  soon  to  come  before  the  Conference, 
he  kept  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  He  says :  "  The 
preachers  and  people  seem  to  be  much  pleased  with  the  pro- 
jected plan.  I  am  led  to  think  that  it  is  of  the  Lord.  I 
am  not  tickled  with  the  honor  to  be  gained ;  I  see  danger  in 
the  way ;  my  soul  waits  on  God ;  0  that  He  may  lead  us  in 
the  way  He  would  have  us  go." 

The  week  before  Conference,  Dr.  Coke,  Messrs.  Asbury, 
Whatcoat,  Vasey,  and  a  few  more  of  the  senior  preachers, 
spent  at  Mr.  Gough's,  considering  some  of  the  rules  and 
minutes  of  Methodism,  as  necessary  to  the  furthering  of  the 
work  of  the  Lord  in  America.  Friday,  24th  of  December, 
they  left  Perry  Hall,  and  rode  through  a  severe  frost  to 
Baltimore,  where  they  met  a  few  preachers ;  and  at  ten  of 
the  clock  Conference  began  in  the  Lovely-lane  Chapel.  The 
preachers  arrived  from  day  to  day,  and  before  Conference 
ended  there  were  about  sixty,  out  of  eighty-one,  present. 
Dr.  Coke  being  in  the  chair,  presented  Mr.  Wesley's  letter 
to  the  Conference,  in  which  he  gave  the  reasons  of  the  course 
he  had  taken,  in  giving  orders  to  the  Methodists  of  this 
country,  leaving  them  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primi- 
tive Church,  in  carrying  out  the  details  of  his  plan.  This 
letter  was  considered,  and  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury,  who 
had  been  appointed,  by  Mr.  Wesley,  joint  superintendents, 
were  unanimously  elected  to  that  office  by  the  preachers 
present.  They  agreed  and  resolved  to  form  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  in  which  the  Liturgy,  as  presented  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  should  be  read,  the  sacraments  administered  by 
superintendents,  elders,  and  deacons,  who  shall  be  ordained 
by  a  presbytery,  using  the  episcopal  form,  as  found  in  Mr. 
Wesley's  prayer-book.  The  persons  to  be  ordained,  to  be 
nominated  by  the  superintendents,  and  elected  by  the  Con- 
ference ;  and  ordained  by  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the 
superintendents  and  elders;  the  superintendents  had  a  nega- 
tive voice.  This  power  to  nominate  for  orders,  and  negative, 
was  soon  taken  away  from  the  superintendents. 

On  Saturday,  25th,  being  the  second  day  of  Conference, 
Mr.  Asbury  Avas  ordained  deacon  by  Dr.  Coke,  assisted 
by  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and  Yasey.  On  the  26th,  being  Sun- 
day, he  was  ordained  elder  by  the  same  Presbytery  ;  and  on 
Monday,  27th,  he  was  ordained  superintendent,  the  Rev. 
P.  W.  Otterbine,  of  the  German  church,  assisting  the  above- 
named  Presbytery  in  setting  him  apart.  On  Tuesday,  28th, 
and  two  following  days,  the  Conference  was  engaged  in 
considering  rules  of  discipline,  and  electing  to  orders.     On 


1784.]  IN    AMERICA.  413 

Friday,  31st,  several  deacons  were  ordained.  Saturday, 
January  1st,  1785,  the  contemplated  college  at  Abingdon 
was  under  consideration;  and  on  Sunday,  2d,  one  deacon 
and  ten  elders  were  ordained,  and  the  Conference  ended  in 
peace  and  love.  Dr.  Coke  preached  every  day,  at  noon, 
while  the  Conference  lasted,  and  some  one  of  the  other 
preachers,  morning  and  night.  The  preaching  was  in  the 
chapels  in  town,  and  Point,  and  in   Mr.  Otterbine's  church. 

Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson  and  James  0.  Cromwell  were 
ordained  ehlers  for  Nova  Scotia.  Jeremiah  Lambert  for 
Antigua.  To  serve  the  Methodists  in  the  United  States, 
John  Tunnell,  William  Gill,  Le  Roy  Cole,  Nelson  Reed, 
John,  llagarty,  Reuben  Ellis,  Richard  Ivy,  Henry  Willis, 
James  O'Kelley,  and  Beverly  Allen,  ten  elders.  Messrs. 
Tunnell,  Willis,  and  Allen,  were  not  present,  and  received 
ordination  afterwaids.  John  Dickins,  Ignatius  Pigraan,  and 
Caleb  Boyer,  were  elected  deacons.  Mr.  Dickins  was 
ordained  at  this  time,  and  Messrs.  Boyer  and  Pigman  in 
June  following,  at  the  Conference  in  Baltimore. 

As  the  Christmas  Conference  was  fraught  with  issues  the 
most  important  of  any  Conference  ever  held  by  the  Method- 
ists in  America,  it  has  been  looked  back  to  with  peculiar 
emotions;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  make  an  attempt  to 
throw  together  the  names  of  the  Methodist  preachers  who 
composed  this  assembly.  The  following  ministers  were 
certainly  in  attendance  : — Thomas  Coke,  LL.D.,  Francis 
Asbury,  Richard  Whatcoat,  Thomas  Vasey,  Freeborn  Gar- 
rettson, W^illiam  Gill,  Reuben  Ellis,  Le  Roy  Cole,  Richard 
Ivy,  James  O'Kelley,  John  Hagarty,  Nelson  Reed,  James 
0.  Cromwell,  Jeremiah  Lambert,  John  Dickins,  William 
Glendenning,  Francis  Poythress,  Joseph  Everett,  William 
Black,  of  N.  S.,  William  Phoebus,  and  Thomas  Ware. 
There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  the  following  preachers,  from 
their  standing,  and  the  j^l^^ce  of  their  labor,  were  also  there  : — 
Edward  Drumgole,  Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  Thomas  S.  Chew, 
Joseph  Cromwell,  John  Major,  Philip  Cox,  Samuel  Rowe, 
William  Partridge,  Thomas  Foster,  George  Mair,  Samuel 
Dudley,  Adam  Cloud,  Michael  Ellis,  James  White,  Jonathan 
Forrest,  Joseph  Wyatt,  Philip  Bruce,  John  Magary,  William 
Thomas,  John  Baldwin,  Woolman  Ilickson,  Thomas  Ilas- 
kins,  Ira  Ellis,  John  Easter,  Peter  Moriarty,  Enoch  Matson. 
Lemuel  Green,  Thomas  Curtis,  William  Jessup,  Wilson  Lee, 
Thomas  Jackson,  James  Riggin,  W^illiam  Ringold,  Isaac 
Smith,  Matthew  Greentree,  William  Lynch,  Thomas  Bowen, 
Moses  Park,  William  Cannon,  and  Richard  Swift.  Some 
35  * 


4U  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [17S4. 

of  the  preachers  who  were  in  remote  parts  of  the  work,  did 
not  receive  notice,  and  some  that  were  notified  were  unable 
to  attend,  and  about  one-fourth  of  them  were  absent.  All 
matters  that  came  before  the  Conference  were  freely  debated, 
and  decided  by  a  majority  of  votes.  There  was  much  busi- 
\hess  transacted,  and  a  number  of  new  rules  were  made. 
t  The  rule  bearing  on  slave-holders  produced  such  excitement, 
■that  it  was  suspended,  six  months  afterwards,  at  the  Balti- 
|more  Conference,  and  never  afterwards  became  operative. 
While  it  was  in  force,  it  worked  two  ways ;  several  in  Mary- 
land manumitted  their  slaves  at  once;  also,  in  Virginia: 
in  this  state,  a  dying  brother,  whose  will  Dr.  Coke  wrote, 
freed  his  eight  slaves.  Brother  Martin  emancipated  fifteen  ; 
Brother  Norton  eight;  Brother  Ragland  one.  Brother 
Kennon  freed  twenty-two,  each  worth  forty  pounds,  or,  in 
the  aggregate,  eight  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  Brother 
Tandy  Keys  resolved  to  set  his  twenty  slaves  free,  while  his 
father,  Martin  Keys,  who  had  eighty  slaves,  and  who  had, 
for  several  years  past,  had  Methodist  preaching  in  his  house, 
now  shut  his  doors  against  the  preachers,  on  account  of  the 
late  rule. 

The  Methodists  were  now  constituted  a  church,  and  had  ob- 
tained, as  they  believed,  what  they  had  long  wanted,  namely, 
ordained  ministers,  to  administer  the  ordinances  of  the 
gospel  ;  this  had  been  their  great  want ;  they  could  help 
themselves  to  almost  anything  else.  But,  unfortunately,  they 
received  from  Mr.  Wesley  more  than  they  thought  they 
had  any  need  of — a  Liturgy^  to  he  used  in  the  churches  hy 
■ministers,  in  black  gowns,  hands,  and  cassocks.  As  the 
Methodists  of  this  country  had  generally  learned  to  pray 
without  a  book,  and  felt  that  they  could  pray  with  more 
devotion  with  their  eyes  shut,  than  they  could  with  their 
eyes  open,  after  a  few  years  the  prayer-book  was  laid  aside, 
and  has  never  since  come  into  use  among  them.  To  many, 
it  seems  almost  unaccountable,  when  they  hear  professing 
Christians  say  they  cannot  pray  unless  they  have  a  form  of 
prayer  before  them  ;  thereby  acknowledging  themselves  to  be 
in  arrears  of  their  little  ones,  who  can  make  their  parents 
understand  their  wants.  Why,  then,  should  adult  persons 
represent  that  they  cannot  frame  their  wishes  into  words, 
expressive  of  the  things  they  desire  to  receive  of  their 
Heavenly  Father?* 

^^  As  to  sentiment  and  language,  better  -written  prayers  are  not  to  be 
ilesireJ,  than  those  of  the  prayer-book  used  ])y  Mr.  Wesley,  and  recom- 
mended hv  him  to  the  Methodists,  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Coke's  first  visit 


1784.]  IN  AMERICA.  415 

The  opposition  of  many  of  the  preachers  and  people  was 
not  less  manifest  toward  the  custom  introduced  by  the  super- 
intendents and  some  of  the  elders,  of  wearing  gowns  and 
bands.  It  made  two  parties  in  many  places  ;  at  St.  George's 
there  was  a  gown  party  and  an  anti-gown  party.  The  first 
time  the  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  saw  Mr.  Asbury,  after  his  ordina- 
tion, was  at  Colonel  Hindorn's,  in  North  Carolina,  when  the 
bishop  appeared  in  gown,  cassock,  and  band,  to  begin  the 
service.  Mr.  Lee  was  grieved,  as  it  seemed  to  him  an 
innovation  of  the  plain  simplicity  exhibited  by  the  Method- 
ists of  this  country  heretofore.  Did  the  gown  originate 
with  Jesus  of  Nazareth?  When  He  delivered  His  great 
sermon  on  the  mount,  did  He  come  out  of  a  vestry  thus 
attired?  When  He  made  Peter's  fishing-boat  His  pulpit, 
had  He  on  a  flowing  gown,  rustling  in  the  breeze  ?  Who 
can  prove  that  either  Christ  or  His  apostles  ever  ofiiciated 
in  clerical  vestments  ?  The  gown  and  the  prayer-book  were 
looked  upon,  by  the  great  body  of  American  Methodists,  as 

to  this  country.  We  believe  in  all  manner  of  prayer,  except  the  im- 
plorings  of  the  wicked  heart  for  vengeance  on  the  objects  of  its  hate. 
We  doubt  not  of  the  general  moral  benefit  of  the  prayer-book,  espe- 
cially before  extempore  prayer  came  into  use,  in  modern  times  ;  and, 
since  extempore  prayer  has  been  in  use,  there  may  be  persons  who  are 
more  benefited  by  reading  prayers,  than  by  the  extempore  mode  ; 
such  should  use  the  prayer-book.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  should  not, 
however,  be  aljsolutely  dependent  on  written  prayers,  as  cases  have 
occiH-red  that  have  called  for  prayer,  when  no  written  prayer  was  adapted 
to  the  case.  Many  have  heard  the  anecdote  of  the  unfortunate  man 
whose  leg  was  broken.  In  his  pain,  he  sent  for  his  minister  to  pray 
for  him.  The  minister  came  with  his  prayer-book,  and  looking  through 
it,  could  find  no  prayer  for  a  bi'oken  leg  :  and  went  away  without  offer- 
ing up  prayer  for  the  suffering  man. 

It  is  related  of  the  eccentric  Daniel  Isaac,  a  Wesleyan  preacher,  that 
he  had  to  officiate  in  a  chapel  that  had  been  furnished  with  a  fine 
large  prayer-book  that  was  to  be  used,  to  gratify  some  of  the  head  men 
of  the  congregation.  On  his  first  visit  to  this  chapel,  he  did  not  use 
the  prayer-book.  A  complaint  was  made  about  this  omission,  and  he 
was  requested  to  read  the  liturgy.  He  told  them  to  come  out,  and  on 
his  next  visit  to  that  place,  he  would  read  prayers  for  them.  When 
the  hour  came,  the  friends  of  the  liturgy  were  there.  He  began  with 
the  first  prayer  that  he  found  in  the  book,  and  read  prayer  after  prayer, 
as  they  came,  in  regular  order,  not  omitting  any — not  even  the  prayer 
for  parturition  ;  (and  had  there  been  a  prayer  for  a  broken  leg  it  would 
have  received  the  same  attention.)  After  spending  more  than  an  hour 
in  this  exercise,  he  stopped  and  inquired — "Ila!  have  you  enough  of 
hearing  prayers  read?''  (The  friends  of  the  liturgy  were  Wiore  than 
satisfied  with  his  way  of  reading  prayers.)  He  folded  the  big  prayer- 
book  and  laid  it  aside,  saying,  "  This  is  an  accomodation  wagon, 
and  I  will  not  ride  in  it,"  and  the  friends  of  the  prayer-book  were  well 
satisfied  that  he  should  not  open  it  for  use  any  more  in  the  chapel. 


416  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

twin  non-essentials.  They  came  into  use  in  a  few  places,  for 
a  short  time,  and  then  were  laid  aside,  for  want  of  general 
sanction  by  the  preachers  and  people ;  and  the  great  body 
of  Methodists,  at  this  day,  scarcely  know  that  they  were 
ever  adopted  by  the  fathers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Having  followed  the  operations  of  the  Methodists,  from 
the  time  that  Mr.  Strawbridge  began  to  astonish  the  people 
of  Frederick  county,  to  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Coke,  we  will  sum 
up.  During  this  period,  the  Methodists  were  a  religious 
society,  directed  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  receive  the  ordinances 
from  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England.  Some  of  the 
Methodists  had  been  reared  in  this  church,  and  were  satisfied 
"with  this  state  of  things  ;  but  there  were  many  who  deplored 
it;  and  hence,  the  Conference  in  Virginia,  in  1779,  under- 
took to  help  themselves  and  the  societies  to  the  ordinances. 
Whether  it  were  better  or  worse  for  the  Methodists,  to  have 
been  in  that  state  during  that  period,  is  as  difficult  to  deter- 
mine, as  it  is  to  be  certain  which  of  two  measures  would  be 
best  when  only  one  of  them  has  been  tried  ;  as  to  untried 
measures,  we  cannot  rise  above  conjecture.  No  doubt  there 
had  been  those  who  had  been  blessed  under  their  ministry, 
who  did  not  unite  with  them,  bec'ause  they  were  not  invested 
with  what  were  considered  full  ministerial  powers.  On  the 
other  hand,  as  they  were  considered  a  branch  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  many  of  them  went  to  that  church  to 
receive  the  ordinances,  and  cultivated  friendship  with  her 
pious  ministers  and  members — this  gave  them  great  influ- 
ence with  them ;  and  many  serious  Church  people,  that 
desired  spiritual  religion,  fell  into  the  ranks  of  the  Method- 
ists. Many  of  this  description  might  not  have  been  Method- 
ists but  for  the  relation  they  sustained  to  each  other,  and 
the  friendship  that  subsisted  between  them. 

Whatever  disadvantages  the  Methodists  of  this  country 
had  labored  under  for  want  of  church  organization,  ordina- 
tion, and  ordinances,  it  is  manifest  that  much  had  been 
accomplished  in  spreading  "  Scriptural  holiness "  in  this 
land, — in  opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind ;  and  in  preparing  a 
people  to  serve  God  in  the  beauty  of  holiness  ;  and  to 
worship  him  in  the  Upper  Temple.  The  standard  of  Method- 
ism had  been  set  up  in  New  York,  Long  Island,  Staten 
Island,  New  Rochelle,  and  Ashgrove.  There  were  Methodist 
societies  in  all  the  counties  in  West  Jersey,  and  in  several 
of  the  counties  of  East  Jersey.  They  were  found  in  Penn- 
sylvania,   in    Philadelphia,    Bucks,    Montgomery,    Chester, 


1784.]  IN   AMERICA.  417 

Lancaster,  Berks,  York, — and  in  the  southern  tier  of  coun- 
ties as  far  as  Bedford,  and  the  Redstone  settlement  beyond 
the  Allegheny  ;  they  had  formed  a  circuit  on  the  Juniata 
river,  also.  They  had  established  themselves  in  every  county 
in  Delaware  and  Maryland.  They  were  to  be  found  in 
nearly  all  the  counties  of  Virginia,  east  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains.  They  were  also  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Holston  river  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  state.  They 
had  spread  over  North  Carolina,  with  the  exception  of  some 
of  the  south-eastern  counties,  and  some  few  of  the  south- 
western ;  and  were  bearing  down  on  South  Carolina,  and 
Georgia,  into  both  of  which  states  preachers  were  sent  the 
following  year.  Such  was  the  territory  of  country  over 
which  they  had  spread  in  the  course  of  twenty-five  years. 
They  had  founded  a  number  of  chapels,  such  as  Wesley 
Chapel  in  New  York,  one  in  New^  Jersey  in  1773,  supposed 
to  be  Bethel,  in  Gloucester  county, — the  New  Mills  House, — 
one  in  Trenton, — and  a  fourth  in  Salem.  In  Pennsylvania 
they  had  bought  St.  George's,  were  using  Bethel  in  Mont- 
gomery; also.  Old  Forrest,  in  Berks, — had  erected  Benson's, 
and  the  Valley,  or  Grove,  in  Chester  county.  In  Delaware 
state,  Forrest,  or  Thomas's,  Barratt's,  White's  Chapel,  Bethel 
and  Moore's,  in  Sussex  county  ;  Cloud's,  Blackiston's,  Friend- 
ship, in  Thoroughfare  Neck ;  and  Wesley  Chapel,  in  Dover. 
In  Maryland,  the  Pipe  or  Sam's  Creek,  Bush  Forrest,  Gun- 
powder, Back  River  Neck,  Middle  River  Neck,  Fell's  Point, 
one  in  Baltimoretown,  Kent  Meeting-house,  Mountain  Meet- 
ing-house, Bennett's,  Hunt's,  Deer  Creek,  Dudley's,  Tucka- 
hoe,  Quantico,  Annamessex  Chapel,  and  one  still  lower  in 
Somerset  county.  Line  Chapel,  Bolingbroke  Chapel,  New- 
town-Chester, or  Chestertown  Chapel,  and  Werton  Chapel. 
In  Virginia,  Yeargin's,  Lane's,  Boisseau's,  Mabry's,  Mer- 
ritt's,  Easlin's,  White's,  Stony  Hill,  Mumpin's,  Rose  Creek, 
Adams's,  Ellis's,  Mason's,  Howel's,  Nansemond,  and  some 
sort  of  houses  in  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth.  In  North  Caro- 
lina, Nutbush,  Cypress,  Pope's,  Taylor's,  Henley's,  Lee's, 
Watson's,  Parish's,  and  Jones's.  Here  were  more  than  sixty 
houses  of  worship  claimed  and  occupied  by  the  Methodists. 
True,  they  were  humble  temples,  none  of  them  were  stuccoed, 
or  frescoed;  and  yet  the  mystic  shekiiia,  the  glory,  was  mani- 
fested in  them. 

It  is  manifest  to  every  one  who  reads  the  account  of  the 
spread  of  Methodism  in  this  country,  that  it  took  more 
rapidly  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Dela- 
ware, than  it  did  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New 


418  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1784. 

York.  The  cause  of  this  cannot  be  found  in  the  preachers, 
nor  in  the  doctrines  taught,  which  were  the  same  north  and 
south.  A  minor  cause  may,  possibly,  be  found  in  the  differ- 
ence of  temperament ;  but  the  major  cause,  undoubtedly, 
was  in  the  different  religious  trainings  which  the  people  had 
received.  In  the  South  the  religion  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land prevailed ;  and  as  the  Methodists  preached  the  same 
doctrine,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  fellowshipped  this 
religious  community,  they  had  much  success  among  them  ; 
in  some  regions  nearly  every  serious  Churchman  became  a 
Methodist.  The  Calvinistic  sects  of  the  North  had  stubborn 
prejudices ;  the  doctrine  taught  by  the  Methodists  was 
denounced  by  them  as  monstrous.  In  some  regions,  the 
language  in  which  they  preached,  was  but  little  understood 
by  the  German  population.  In  the  beginning  the  Quakers 
came  in  considerable  numbers  to  hear  them  preach,  seeing  in 
them  plainness  of  dress,  and  that  spirituality  which  was  part 
of  their  system ;  yet  it  was  not  long  before  they  denounced 
them  as  hirelings,  and  used  their  influence  to  keep  their 
people  from  hearing,  and  more  especially  from  uniting  with 
them.  These  causes,  backed  by  general  phlegmatic  character, 
disputed  every  inch  of  the  way  with  Methodism  in  the  North. 
After  the  Christmas  Conference  ended,  Dr.  Coke  w^ent  to 
New  York,  to  make  arrangements  for  Messrs.  Garrettson 
and  Cromwell,  the  missionaries  for  Nova  Scotia,  to  sail 
thither.  Returning  through  New  Jersey,  he  preached,  for 
the  first  time,  in  Burlington,  in  the  church,  by  invitation  of 
the  vestry ;  at  the  same  time  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  New 
Mills.  From  here  he  went  to  the  Peninsula.  He  noted  in 
his  Journal  that  there  was  a  revival  among  the  Methodists 
in  Wilmington,  Del.  After  visiting  Duck  Creek,  Dover, 
Judge  White's,  Henry  Downs's,  Colonel  Hopper's,  Dudley's, 
Chestertown,  Abingdon,  and  Mr.  Gough's,  he  came  to  Balti- 
more, where  there  was  another  revival  of  religion  in  progress. 
At  this  time  he  prevailed  on  the  Methodists  of  Baltimore  to 
build  a  new  church  ;  the  Lovely-lane  Chapel  was  sold,  and 
the  original  Light  Street  House  was  built.  From  here  he 
started  on  a  tour  throuo;h  the  South.  At  Elkrido-e  he  had 
service  in  the  old  church,  and  was  entertained  by  Mr.  Dorsey. 
Going  from  here  to  Alexandria,  he  saw  what  to  him  was  a 
novel  sight, — the  trees  hung  in  icicles,  resembling  trees  of 
ice.  Between  Alexandria  and  Colchester,  he  was  near  being 
drowned  while  crossing  a  swollen  stream  of  water.  He 
reached  Portsmouth  by  the  middle  of  March.  While  in  the 
South  he  often  officiated  in  the  churches  of  other  denomi- 


1785.]  IN   AMERICA.  419 

nations,  especially  those  of  the  old  Church  of  England. 
This  was  the  case  at  the  Brick  Church,  Coenjock,  Sandy 
Hook,  St.  John's,  Bridges,  Roanoke,  Bent,  and  some  other 
places.  Sometimes  in  court-houses,  as  at  Edenton,  and 
Pasquotank  ;  but  most  commonly  he  preached  in  Methodist 
houses.  This  was  the  case  at  Jolly's,  Williams's,  Campbell's, 
Moore's,  Malone's,  Johnson's,  Dawsing's,  Almond's,  Bed- 
ford's, Martin's,  Baker's,  Kennon's,  Taylor's,  Hill's,  Jones's, 
Merritt's,  Mason's,  Spain's,  Granger's,  Finney's,  Briscoe's, 
Agee's,  Bransford's,  Hopkins's,  Key's,  Grimes's,  Fry's,  and 
Watson's.  Some,  who  made  no  profession  of  religion,  and 
were  ranked  among  the  rich,  not  only  kindly  entertained 
him,  but  had  him  to  preach  at  their  houses, — such  were 
Messrs.  Outlaw  and  Lovings.  In  passing  through  some 
parts  of  North  Carolina,  he  noticed  that  it  was  very  remark- 
able for  water,  and  frogs,  and  sickness,  and  there  had  been 
much  mortality  just  about  this  time.  As  Dr.  Coke  was 
strongly  opposed  to  slavery,  he  did  not  cultivate  Mr.  Jarratt's 
friendship  as  Mr.  Asbury  and  some  others  had  done.  Mr. 
Jarratt  Avas  the  owner  of  twenty-four  slaves,  and  a  strenuous 
asserter  of  the  justice  of  slavery.  While  the  Doctor  was  in 
Viro-inia,  he  beoran  to  exhort  the  Methodists  to  free  their 
slaves.  At  a  quarterly  meeting  at  Brother  Martin's,  he 
preached  directly  against  slaveholding,  which  caused  much 
excitement;  one  lady  flew  out  of  the  house  and  offered  fifty 
pounds  to  any  one  who  would  give  that  little  doctor  one 
hundred  lashes.  At  his  next  appointment  many  came  out 
prepared  to  beat  him  if  he  said  anything  on  the  subject; 
but,  as  he  was  silent  on  the  matter,  he  escaped.  At  another 
place,  while  holding  quarterly  meeting  in  a  fine  church,  two 
gay  young  ladies,  daughters  of  the  principal  owner  of  the 
chinch,  went  out  of  the  house  with  airs  of  disrespect ;  the 
doctor  reproved  them,  whereupon  their  father  resolved  to 
hoisewhip  him,  but,  as  the  colonel's  brother  sided  with  the 
doctor,  who  made  some  apology,  he  escaped  this  time  also. 
Some  of  his  religious  services  lasted  six  and  a  half  hours, 
which  time  was  spent  in  worship,  teaching,  and  administering 
the  ordinances.  In  some  sections,  he  observes,  "  the  people 
eat  but  two  meals  in  the  day,  taking  breakfast  at  9  o'clock 
A.M.,  and  dinner  at  4  or  5  p.m."  When  the  doctor  came 
near  the  Blue  llidge  it  reminded  him  of  his  native  country, 
and  he  remarked,  "  That  it  was  more  like  Wales,  in  its 
mountainous  aspect,  than  any  part  of  America  he  had  seen." 
In  Alexandria,  Dr.  Coke  and  Bishop  Asbury  met,  and 
proceeded  to  General  Roberdeau's,  who  was  a  great  friend 


420  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1785. 

to  the  Methodists,  and  who  was  to  introduce  them  to  General 
Washington.  On  the  27th  of  May  they  arrived  at  Mount 
Vernon,  and  received  a  very  polite  reception.  General 
Washington  gave  them  his  views  on  slavery,  which  were 
adverse  to  it.  Dr.  Coke  remarked,  "  I  greatly  loved  him. 
Surely  we  are  kindred  spirits.  0  that  my  God  would  give 
him  the  witness  of  His  Spirit."  At  Annapolis,  in  the  play- 
house, most  of  the  great  lawyers  came  out  to  hear  the  doctor 
preach ;  also,  next  morning  at  5  o'clock,  most  of  the  fine 
ladies,  as  well  as  the  gentlemen,  attended  again. 

In  this  tour  through  the  South,  Dr.  Coke  had  attended 
two  Conferences :  one  at  Brother  Green  Hill's,  in  North 
Carolina,  where  twenty  preachers  met.  The  increase  in  this 
southern  district  was  991.  At  this  Conference,  Beverly 
Allen  was  ordained  elder.  The  other  Conference  was  at 
Brother  Mason's  in  Virginia.  Here  the  people  were  much 
agitated  with  the  late  rule  on  slavery,  and  the  petition  to 
the  Virginia  Assembly  for  emancipation.  To  make  matters 
worse,  Mr.  O'Kelley  preached  against  slavery,  and  they 
were  angry  enough.  Some  intimations  were  given  that  the 
preachers  had  a  mind  to  withdraw  their  labors  from  slave- 
holders ;  but,  at  the  Conference  held  in  Baltimore,  June  1st, 
the  obnoxious  rule  ceased  to  operate.  At  this  Conference, 
the  Bev.  Le  Roy  Cole,  one  of  the  elders  ordained  six 
months  before,  was  suspended ;  and  Messrs.  John  Tunnell, 
Caleb  Boyer,  Ignatius  Pigman,  Thomas  Foster,  and  John 
Baxter  of  Antigua,  were  raised  to  the  office  of  elders ;  and 
Michael  Ellis,  and  William  Ringold,  were  made  deacons. 
After  this,  Dr.  Coke  sailed  for  England. 

In  the  Minutes  of  1785,  the  death  of  two  valuable  itinerants 
is  noted — Pedicord  and  Mair ;  the  former  died  in  the  begin- 
ing  of  1785,  the  latter  soon  after  :  of  Caleb  B.  Pedicord,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Ware  says,  he  was  the  first  -that  fell  after  the 
Methodist  Church  was  organized.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a 
man  of  tears,  and  often  wept  while  holding  up  to  the  view 
of  his  congre^-ations  a  crucified  Redeemer.  He  was  dead 
to  the  world,  and  alive  to  God,  and  lives — and  ever  shall 
live  with  God. 

Mr.  Pedicord  was  a  ready  scribe,  and  acted  as  such  for 
Mr.  Asbury  on  several  occasions.  He  wrote  an  elegant  hand, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  Bible  which  he  used  while  he  preached, 
which,  we  presume,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  John 
Kennedy,  of  New  York  Conference. 

In  1798,  when  Mr.  Asbury  was  so  broken  down  with 
affliction  as  to  be  obliged  to  give  up  travelling,  for  a  while 


1785.]  IN   AMERICA.  421 

he  spent  the  time  .among  his  Virginia  brethren,  Saunders, 
Selby,  Pelham,  Mjrick,  and  Drumgole.  While  in  this  condi- 
tion his  sympathy  led  him  to  say,  *'I  feel  for  those  who 
have  had  to  groan  out  a  wretched  life  dependent  on  others — 
as  Pedicord,  Gill,  Tunnel,  and  others  whose  names  I  do  not 
now  recollect ;  but  their  names  are  written  in  the  book  of 
life,  and  their  souls  are  in  the  glory  of  God."  The  wretched- 
ness of  life  of  these  good  men  consisted  in  their  sufferings  of 
body,  not  in  the  unhappiness  of  their  souls,  which  were 
connected  with  the  source  of  infinite  bliss  through  Christ, 
which  turned  their  pain  into  pleasure,  and  made  life  or  death 
gain  to  them. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 


A  SHORT  chapter,  containing  some  account  of  some  of  the 
Methodists  in  and  about  New  York,  during,  and  after  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

Israel  Disosway,  a  descendant  of  the  Huguenots,  and  a 
native  of  Staten  Island,  was  a  leading  man  among  the  Meth- 
odists on  the  island  when  they  were  first  organized  there. 
According  to  Brother  Wakeley's  account,  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Disosway  was  born  the  same  year  that  Methodism  was  in- 
augurated in  New  York — in  1766.  At  twenty-one,  which 
was  in  1787,  she  was  married  :  her  name  was  then  on  the 
class-paper,  Ann  Doughty  ;  the  class  must  have  been  formed 
before  1787 — some  time  between  1785  and  1787.  Mr.  Dis- 
osway was  the  leader  when  it  was  first  formed.  "  The  first 
quarterly  meeting  was  held  in  his  barn ;  and  the  timbers  of 
the  first  Methodist  church  built  on  Staten  Island,  were  cut 
from  his  trees."  Bishop  Asbury  first  notices  this  house  in 
1791,  under  date  of  September  2 :  "  I  preached  in  our  new 
chapel  to  a  large  congregation,"  he  says.  This  was  on 
Friday;  the  text  was  "Jeremiah  li.  50.  It  was  a  gracious 
season:  after  preaching,  the  society  met."  (Asbury's  Journal, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  115.)     This  chapel  was  built  in  1790,  or  in  1791. 

Gabriel  P.  Disosway,  Esq.,  thinks  he  has  the  first  class- 
paper  of  this  island.  "  The  first  class-paper,  I  presume,  is 
now  in  my  possession.  At  its  head  stands  the  name  of  my 
own  pious  father — useful,  beloved,  holy,  and  gone  to  heaven. 
There  are  nineteen  other  names,  which  at  that  time  em- 
braced the  whole  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
36 


422  RISE    OF    METHODISM  [1785. 

Church  on  the  island.  As  this  old  document  is  curious  and 
interesting  to  many,  I  will  here,  for  the  first  time,  make  a 
public  record  of  it — a  small  contribution  towards  the  history 
of  early  Methodism  upon  Staten  Island.  The  names  of  the 
members  on  the  class-paper  :  Israel  Disosway,  Abraham  Cole, 
Hannah  Cole,  Peter  Woglam,  Judith  Woglam,  John  Slaught, 
Ann  Doughty,  Susannah  Cole,  Christian  Woglam,  Ann  Wog- 
lam, John  Marshall,  Sally  Totten,  Catharine  Woglam,  John 
Winnants,  Ann  Woglam,  Peter  Winant,  Fanny  Slaught, 
Nancy  Totten,  Priscilla  Woglam. 

"  Here  is  the  small  seed  from  which  has  sprung  the  abun- 
dant fruit  in  after  years.  Hallowed  be  the  memories  of  this 
little  Christian  band !  But  one  of  their  number  remains — a 
mother  in  Israel,  lingering  at  a  very  advanced  age.  What 
a  harvest  since  !  We  now  number  six  churches,  four  sta- 
tioned preachers,  with  large  congregations  ;  and  we  are 
blessed  with  the  occasional  ministration  also  of  that  faithful 
man  of  God,  the  venerable  Henry  Boehm,  whose  home  is 
among  us. 

"  What  region,  embracing  an  extent  of  only  some  fourteen 
miles  in  length,  and  from  two  to  four  broad,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  sixteen  thousand  souls,  can  be  more  favored  or  more 
blessed  with  religious  privileges  ?  There  are  now  thirty 
churches  on  Staten  Island,  and  some  twenty  regular  pastors. 
New  temples  are  constantly  rearing  their  sacred  walls  and 
spires,  for  the  honor  and  the  worship  of  the  Almighty  among 
us." 

Mr.  Disosway  married  Ann  Doughty — or  as  the  name  has 
been  written.  Doty ;  whom  the  son  calls  his  "  own  precious 
mother,  well-known  for  her  good  works  and  piety."  In  the 
latter  part  of  his  life,  Mr.  Disosway  lived  in  New  York, 
where  he  was  known  as  a  merchant,  and  where  he  died  in 
1815.  His  widow  lived  twenty-three  years  after  his  death ; 
and  died  in  1838,  aged  seventy- two  years.  They  were  both 
primitive  Methodists,  in  simplicity  and  holiness  of  life. 
Their  son,  Gabriel  P.  Disosway,  is  at  the  present  time  a 
distinguished  Methodist  on  Staten  Island.  Cornelius  R. 
Disosway,  William  P.  Disosway,  and  Israel  D.  Disosway, 
are  also  their  sons ;  they  are  still  living,  and  favorably 
known  as  Methodists. 

Robert  Duncan  married  Elizabeth  Thompson,  in  Durham, 
England,  where  they  united  with  Mr.  Wesley.  They  came 
to  New  York  before  the  war  of  1775,  while  Philip  Embury 
and  Captain  Webb  were  preaching  there.  Robert  was  em- 
ployed as  sexton  of  Wesley  Chapel.     During  the  war,  when 


1785.]  IN    AMERICA.  423 

the  British  bombarded  the  city,  a  cannon-ball  went  through 
the  parsonage,  to  the  dismay  of  Robert  and  his  family. 

Mr.  Duncan  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  pious  and 
honest  of  the  New  York  Methodists.  During  the  war,  the 
Methodists  intrusted  their  valuable  things  to  him.  That 
they  might  be  in  the  safest  spot,  he  put  them  in  the  vaults 
among  the  dead,  under  Wesley  Chapel.  No  one  sought  or 
found  them  there. 

About  the  midst  of  the  "war,  in  1778,  he  died  in  triumph, 
and  was  buried  in  Trinity  grave-yard,  Broadway ;  and  has  a 
tombstone  to  mark  the  place. 

His  widow  married  a  Mr.  Carr,  a  Methodist:  they  went 
to  Nova  Scotia,  and  ended  their  days  "in  the  hope  of 
glory." 

Elizabeth  Duncan,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth 
Duncan,  married  Abraham  Wilson,  of  New  York,  a  man  of 
considerable  pecuniary  prospects  :  he  died  in  Norwalk,  Conn. 
His  widow  died,  victorious,  aged  eighty-six  years ;  she  was 
buried  in  Quakertown,  N.  J. 

Abraham  and  Elizabeth  Wilson's  oldest  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, married  Jonathan  Griffith  :  they  were  useful  Methodists 
in  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.  They  had  twelve  children  ;  one  of 
them,  the  Rev.  Edward  M.  Griffith,  is  a  member  of  the 
Newark  Conference.  Mary  Griffith  is  the  wdfe  of  the  Rev. 
Francis  A.  Morrell,  of  the  same  Conference  —  these  are 
lineal  descendants  of  the  pious  Robert  Duncan  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth.     ("Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  430-6.) 

Abraham  Russel  was  born  in  Shrewsbury,  N.  J.,  in  1746. 
While  young  he  made  New  York  his  home  ;  and  frequently 
heard  Captain  Webb  and  Philip  Embury  preach  at  the 
"Rigging  Loft,"  in  1767  and  in  1768.  He  married  Hilah 
Elseworth,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  children.  They  lived 
opposite  to  the  "Sugar  House,"  w^here  the  British  confined 
and  punished  the  American  prisoners,  among  whom  was  a 
brother  of  Mrs.  Russel.  She  secretly  ministered  to  them 
by  feeding  them. 

Mr.  Russel  was  raised  in  the  Church  of  England,  but  united 
with  the  Methodists  in  1782.  In  the  following  year  he  was 
made  a  trustee  of  Wesley  Chapel:  he  continued  in  the  office 
to  the  end  of  his  life  ;  and  was  among  the  most  useful  that 
filled  the  office  in  New  York ;  he  was  also  a  class-leader. 

His  son,  John  Russel,  was  a  preacher:  he  died  in  1813. 
His  daughter,  Hester  Russel,  married  the  Rev.  Daniel  Smith, 
who  itinerated  for  a  while,  and  then  settled  in  New  York. 
Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  the   same  year  that 


424  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1785. 

Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pilmoor  came  to  this  city — in  1769. 
He  died  in  New  York,  in  1815. 

Abraham  Russel,  after  a  long,  useful,  and  honorable  life, 
died  in  1833,  in  his  eighty- eighth  year.  His  wife,  who  was 
nine  years  younger,  survived  him  nine  years,  and  died  in  1842, 
in  her  eighty-eighth  year.  Their  son  Theophilus,  the  only  one 
of  the  twelve  children  now  living,  resides  in  New  York. 

Andrew  Mercein,  whose  parents  were  Huguenots,  was  born 
1763.  When  sixteen  years  old,  in  1779,  he  was  pressed 
and  put  aboard  of  a  British  man  of  war  in  the  Hudson  river. 
He  resolved  not  to  be  found  in  arms  against  his  country. 
Amidst  the  darkness  of  the  night,  he  stripped  himself,  tying 
his  clothes  on  his  back,  he  dropped  into  the  Hudson,  and 
swam  for  the  shore,  which  he  reached  in  safety,  though 
several  shots  were  fired  at  him.  He  was  bound  to  a  baker 
who  made  bread  for  the  army.  Provision  was  scarce  and 
dear :  flour  was  twenty  dollars  per  hundred  pounds, — four 
hundred  per  cent,  higher  than  before  the  war, — butter  went 
up  from  two  to  seven  shillings  per  pound. 

Mr.  Mercein  was  awakened  in  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church, 
under  Dr.  Livingston,  but  joined  the  Methodists  in  1786, 
through  the  influence  of  Israel  Disosway  and  Robert  Barry. 
Mr.  Barry  married  the  sister  of  the  Rev.  William  Jessup, 
who  was  raised  in  Sussex  county,  Delaware,  near  Bridgeville. 

Mr.  Mercein  was  class-leader  and  trustee  in  New  York 
for  many  years.  Removing  to  Brooklyn,  he  joined  Sands 
Street  Church.  After  exemplifying  the  shining  graces  of 
Christianity  for  more  than  fifty  years,  he  made  a  happy  exit 
from  time,  in  1835  :  he  sleeps  in  Sands  Street  burying  ground, 
in  company  with  the  Rev.  William  Ross,  and  the  beloved 
Summerfield. 

His  grandson,  the  Rev.  T.  F.  R.  Mercein,  is  a  member  of 
the  New  York  Conference.  (Extracted  from  "  Lost  Chapters," 
pp.  558-561.) 

George  Suckley  was  a  Methodist  in  England,  where  he 
saw  and  heard  the  Wesleys  preach.  He  came  to  New  York 
with  Dr.  Coke.  He  was  a  leading  merchant  in  New  York, 
where  he  held  offices  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical. 

Mr.  Suckley  married  Miss  Catherine  Rutson  of  Rhinebeck, 
an  intimate  friend  of  Mrs.  Catherine  Garrettson.  She  was 
born  in  1768,  and  died  in  peace  with  God,  in  1826,  aged 
fifty-eight  years.  Mr.  Suckley  lived  to  serve  God  and  the 
Church  until  1845.  He  was  born  in  1764,  and  was  in  his 
eighty-first  year  when  called  to  the  upper  sphere. 

Stephen  Dando  was  born  in  1767,  in  England.     He  came 


1785.]  IN   AMERICA.  425 

to  America  in  1785,  and  joined  the  Wesley  Chapel  Method- 
ists in  New  York,  under  John  Dickins.  He,  like  Mr. 
Suckley,  had  sat  under  the  ministry  of  the  Wesleys.  He 
was  religiously  united  with  the  first  congregation  of  New 
York  Methodists  for  sixty-five  years  or  more :  he  died,  in 
view  of  heaven,  in  1851,  aged  eighty-five  years. 

Mary  Dando  was  born  in  England,  in  1752,  came  to  this 
country  in  1783,  and  joined  the  Methodists  in  1786.  She 
was  aunt  to  Stephen  Dando,  and  never  married,  but  made 
herself  useful  by  taking  care  of  orphan  children,  and  raising 
them  to  piety  and  usefulness.  In  the  days  of  five  o'clock 
morning  preaching,  she  quitted  her  bed  to  attend  at  Wesley 
Chapel  to  early  morning  means  of  grace.  At  the  age  of 
seventy  three  years,  she  went  to  receive  her  reward  from  her 
Lord,  in  1825.  (Extracted  from  "Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  562- 
3,  and  566-7.) 

Philip  J.  Arcularius  came  from  Germany  when  young ; 
he  was  raised  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  but  in  1787  he  united 
with  the  Methodists,  at  Wesley  Chapel.  He  built  up  a  very 
fine  reputation  in  New  York  as  a  business  man,  and  acquired 
a  respectable  estate.  He  filled  the  offices  of  trustee  and 
class-leader  among  the  Methodists ;  and,  as  a  citizen,  was 
honored  with  a  seat  in  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  New 
York. 

Losing  his  first  companion,  he  married,  for  his  second  wife, 
the  widow  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Ward.  Mr.  Ward  was  a 
preacher  of  considerable  standing  among  the  Methodists ;  he 
was  sent  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1812,  where  his  health  gave 
way,  and  he  died  the  following  year  on  Long  Island.  In 
1804  he  was  stationed  on  Long  Island,  and  attended  the  first 
Methodist  camp-meeting  which  was  held  at  Carmel,  Duchess 
county,  N.  Y.,  that  was  ever  held  north  of  the  Susquehanna 
river.  Mr.  Ward  took  notes  of  this  meeting,  which  have 
since  been  read  with  much  interest,  and  which  we  could  here 
give,  if  it  were  the  proper  time  and  place.  This  camp-meet- 
ing had  been  gotten  up  through  the  influence  of  the  Rev. 
Nicholas  Snethen,  who  had  caught  the  inspiration  of  camp- 
meetings  in  the  South.  He,  with  many  others,  attended  it ; 
and  it  was  attended  with  great  power  and  good. 

Mr.  Arcularius  died  in  1825,  aged  seventy-eight  years. 
Messrs.  James  and  Samuel  Harper  married  two  sisters, 
daughters  of  Mr.  Arcularius  :  the  name  of  Harper  has 
America-wide,  if  not  world-wide  fame.  (Extracted  in  part 
from  "  Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  544-6.) 

Gilbert  Coutant,  a  descendant  of  the  Huguenots,  who 
36* 


426  RISE   OF    METHODISM  [1785. 

settled  at  New  Rochelle,  was  born  in  1766,  the  epoch  of 
New  York  Methodism.  While  young,  he  came  to  New  York 
to  live.  He  was  led  to  the  Methodists  by  hearing  Robert 
Cloud  preaching  in  Wesley  Chapel,  in  1786.  Under  this 
discourse  he  was  awakened  to  the  duties  of  religion.  In 
1788  he  was  married  to  Mary  Varian,  with  whom  he  lived 
for  fifty-seven  years.  In  1789,  while  Thomas  Morrall  and 
Robert  Cloud  were  laboring  in  New  York,  he  was  converted, 
and  joined  Wesley  Chapel  society.  In  1798  he  was  put  into 
the  board  of  trustees,  with  William  Cooper,  Philip  J.  Arcula- 
rius,  Paul  Heck,  Abraham  Russel,  and  Israel  Disosway. 
For  forty  years  he  led  a  class.  He  was  the  great  patron  of 
the  Two  Mile  Stone  Church.  He  died  at  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y., 
in  1845,  in  his  eighty-first  year.  He  was  regarded  as  a  most 
valuable  citizen  and  Christian,  in  the  community  of  New 
York.     (Extracted  from  "Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  564-5.) 

Thomas  Carpenter  was  born  on  Long  Island,  1757.  When 
twenty-five  years  old  he  embraced  religion,  and  joined  the 
Methodists  soon  after.  After  a  long  and  useful  life,  he  died 
in  1825,  being  sixty-eight  years  old.  His  excellent  com- 
panion died  the  same  year,  aged  seventy-two  years.  Mr. 
Carpenter's  son,  the  late  Rev.  Charles  W.  Carpenter,  of  the 
New  York  Conference,  was  an  exemplification  of  true  Chris- 
tianity in  life,  and  of  its  triumphs  in  death. 

Peter  Williams,  son  of  George  and  Diana  Williams,  who 
were  natives  of  Africa,  and  slaves  in  America  to  the  Boorite 
family,  was  born  in  Beekman  street,  N.  Y.,  in  a  stable.  He 
became  a  Methodist  under  Embury  and  Webb,  while  the 
Rigging  Loft  was  their  church.  Peter  was  a  great  admirer 
of  Captain  Webb,  as  well  as  the  great  John  Adams.  The 
Rev.  Solomon  Sharp  once  remarked,  "  Well,  I  would  have 
some  one  converted,  if  it  was  a  negro."  Such  a  preacher 
was  the  captain — he  would  have  some  one  converted,  *'  if  it 
was  a  negro." 

At  Wesley  Chapel  Peter  became  acquainted  with  a  superior 
woman,  called  Mary  Durham,  a  native  of  St.  Christopher, 
who  came  with  the  Durham  family  to  New  York,  whom  he 
married ;  it  was  a  happy  match.  After  Peter  ceased  to 
belong  to  Aymar,  the  tobacconist,  he  was  in  the  employment 
of  the  father  of  the  late  Dr.  Milledollar,  who  was  a  tobac- 
conist. W^hen  Peter  became  free,  he  set  up  the  tobacco  busi- 
ness in  Liberty  street ;  he  and  his  tobacco  were  both  popu- 
lar ;  and  he  was  soon  worth  his  dwelling-house,  his  store,  and 
other  property. 

In  1783,  William  Lupton,  Richard  Sause,  and  Charles 


1785.]  IN    AMERICA.  427 

White,  bought  Peter  Williams,  the  colored  sexton  of  Wesley 
Chapel,  paying  forty  pounds  for  him  to  James  Aymar,  a 
tobacconist  of  New  York.  Aymar  being  a  loyalist,  had  to 
leave  the  country,  and  the  trustees  wishing  to  retain  Peter, 
bought  him.  Peter  and  his  wife  were  both  pious,  honorable 
people,  who  did  much  to  make  the  preachers  comfortable. 
They  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  Methodists  and  their 
acquaintances,  and  went  to  their  graves  honored  and  beloved. 
(Extracted  from  "Lost  Chapters,"  pp.  440,  470.) 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCHES    IN    PHILADELPHIA. 

The  church  which  has  long  been  known  as  Saint  George's 
was  founded  in  1763,  and  was  purchased  by  the  Methodists 
in  1770 ;  w^ithin  its  walls  they  still  worship. 

About  1789,  Mr.  Petherbridge,  father  of  the  Rev.  Richard 
Whatcoat  Petherbridge,  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference, 
secured  ground  on  Second  street  near  Queen  street,  on 
whicli  Ebenezer  Church  was  erected  in  1790.  After  this 
place  of  worship  had  been  used  by  the  Methodists  twenty- 
eight  years,  another  edifice,  bearing  the  same  name,  was 
built  in  Christian  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets, 
in  1818.  This  building  was  rebuilt  in  1851,  according  to 
modern  arrangement.  In  the  cemetery  of  this  church  re- 
poses the  dust  of  eight,  who,  in  their  day,  were  itinerants  in 
the  Philadelphia  Conference.  In  the  order  of  time,  Joseph 
Jewell  was  the  first.  This  minister,  who,  in  his  supernume- 
rary days,  was  steward  in  the  house  of  the  Hon.  Richard 
Bassett,  on  Bohemia  Manor,  was  laid  to  rest  in  this  ground 
in  May,  1814,  aged  forty-eight  years.  Brother  Bell,  the 
present  sexton  of  the  church,  watched  him  in  his  dying 
'hours,  forty-five  years  since. 

The  next  was  William  Penn  Chandler,  who,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight,  was  buried  in  front  of  the  church,  in  1822. 
Were  we  called  upon  to  give  an  opinion  on  ^Methodist- 
preacher-efficiency,  we  should  say,  that  in  his  palmy  days, 
he  wielded  more  moral,  ministerial,  and  religious  influence, 
than  any  preacher  that  ever  belonged  to  the  Philadelphia 
Conference. 


428  RISE    OF    METHODISM 

In  1826,  at  the  age  of  thirty-three,  the  amiable,  sweet- 
spirited  John  Creamer  was  interred  in  this  ground.  He  may 
be  pretty  well  estimated,  when  it  is  stated  that  the  exclusive 
Friends  consented  for  him  to  preach  in  their  meeting-house, 
in  Salem,  N.  J.,  when  he  preached  on  Salem  Circuit — a 
manifestation  of  liberality  we  never  heard  of  in  reference  to 
any  other  Methodist  preacher. 

In  1828,  Thomas  Everhard,  an  aged  man,  and  an  aged 
minister,  was  buried  at  Ebenezer. 

In  1837,  John  Potts,  twenty-five  years  in  the  ministry,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-five,  was  committed  to  this  ground. 

In  1849,  John  Woolson,  aged  seventy-four,  who  had  been 
forty  years  in  the  work,  was  laid  to  rest  here. 

James  Allen,  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  while  officiating  as 
preacher  and  pastor  of  this  Church,  fell,  much  lamented,  in 
1850.  His  tablet,  as  also  Dr.  Chandler's,  is  in  front  of  the 
church. 

In  1852,  James  Smith,  a  preacher  forty-two  years,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-three,  was  buried  in  this  ground. 

Four  local  preachers  also  are  sleeping  here : — The  good 
Samuel  Hanse,  who  died  in  1828 ;  the  high-minded  Andrew 
Mecaskey,  who  fell  asleep  in  1842  ;  the  zealous  and  useful 
David  Kollock  passed  away  in  1855 ;  and  the  innocent  John 
Caldwell,  in  1857. 

The  next  place  of  worship  erected  by  the  Methodists  in 
this  city  was  for  the  use  of  the  colored  people,  and  was  called 
"Bethel."  It  was  opened  for  worship  about  1794.  For  several 
years  the  society  connected  with  this  house  was  subject  to 
the  discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  preacher 
in  charge  of  the  St.  George's  station  having  charge  of  it. 
But  a  plan  was  devised  among  them  by  which  they  became 
independent,  with  Richard  Allen  at  their  head ;  who  subse- 
quently was  ordained  bishop,  by  the  Rev.  Bishop  White,  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  this  city. 

In  1796,  another  place  of  worship  was  opened  for  the 
people  of  color  up  town,  in  Brown  street,  called  "  Zoar  ;" 
this  was  the  third  house  built  by  the  Methodists  in  Philadel- 
phia and  its  Liberties ;  and  now  they  had  four  places  of 
worship — two  for  white  people,  and  two  for  colored  people. 
When  Zoar  was  built  its  site  was  called  "  Campingtown." 
The  regularly  built  town  did  not  extend  to  it  by  a  consider- 
able space.  This  society  maintained  its  allegiance  to  the 
M.  E.  Church  with  good  faith. 

In  1800,  there  was  considerable  dissatisfaction  in  the  St. 
George's  society,  which  resulted  in  a  secession  of  some  fifty 


IN    AMERICA.  429 

members,  who  rented  the  north  end  of  Mr.  Whitefield's 
Academy  to  worship  in  ;  and  in  1801  they  bought  the  south 
end,  which  became  their  church  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
At  first,  the  Academy  was  a  little  on  the  Independent  plan; 
several  local  preachers — such  names  as  John  Hood,  Thomas 
Haskins,  Samuel  Harvey,  and  others,  belonged  to  it,  and 
preached  to  the  congregation.  In  1802,  the  Rev.  George 
Roberts  was  received,  by  Bishop  Asbury's  appointment,  and 
it  was  recognised  as  a  member  of  the  Methodist  family.  This 
"  dividing  of  the  body  of  Christ,"  as  Bishop  Asbury  called 
it,  gave  him  much  grief.  Hitherto  he  had  supposed  that 
Methodism  could  grow  only  from  the  seed  of  truth  sown  in 
the  people  by  the  Spirit's  influence  on  the  gospel.  The 
subsequent  prosperity  of  the  Academy  convinced  him  that 
Methodism  could  also  grow  from  a  slip,  or  a  sprout  taken 
from  the  main  stem. 

In  1833,  the  era  of  modern  church  arrangement,  with 
basement  for  weekly  lectures,  prayer  and  class  meetings, 
Sunday  schools,  &c.,  was  inaugurated  in  Philadelphia  by  the 
Methodists,  when  the  old  Academy  or  Union  gave  place  to 
the  "  Union  M.  E.  Church."  As  epic  poetry  attained  its 
perfection  in  Homer,  its  father,  so  modern  church  symmetry 
in  Philadelphia  M.  E.  Churches  seems  to  have  attained  its 
perfection  in  the  audience-chamber  of  the  Union  Church, — 
the  "  inexpressible  quality,"  as  Mr.  Wesley  calls  it,  which  we 
take  to  be  nothing  else  than  proportion.  We  have  yet  to  see 
a  Methodist  Church  that  presents  more  beautiful  simplicity 
than  the  Union  when  filled  with  people. 

In  this  notice  of  M.  E.  Churches  in  Philadelphia,  we  think 
it  proper  to  comprehend  all  the  churches  in  the  consolidated 
city.  Probably  the  next  in  the  order  of  time  is  German- 
town.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  give  many  dates  of  this 
Church  with  certainty.  We  cannot  say  with  certainty  which 
Methodist  preacher  was  in  Germantown  first.  Mr.  Asbury 
preached  in  the  German  Reformed  Church  of  the  place  in 
May,  1773.  One  of  the  first  discourses  delivered  by  this 
order,  in  the  town,  was  under  an  apple-tree.  It  is  not  pro- 
bable that  the  Methodists  had  a  society  here  until  after  the 
war.  Mrs.  Steel  and  her  son-in-law.  Dr.  Lusby,  were  some 
of  the  early  friends  and  Methodists  of  this  town ;  also,  the 
Harmer  and  Keyser  families. 

Some  time  between  1790  and  1800,  they  had  a  place  of 
worship ;  the  house  still  stands,  it  is  said,  and  has  long  been 
used  as  a  school-house.  The  Methodists  of  this  town  erected 
a  larger  building  of  stone  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 


430  RISE    OF    METHODISM 

century ;  this  was  subsequently  enlarged,  and,  in  1858,  torn 
down,  and  a  new  building  put  up  to  suit  the  times :  it  is  a 
plain,  neat,  convenient  church.  The  Methodists  of  German- 
town  have  had  their  place  of  worship  on  Haines  street. 

In  1804,  the  original  Kensington  M.  E.  Church  was 
founded,  and  long  known  as  the  "  Old  Brick."  It  was  a 
small  edifice,  but  subsequently  enlarged  ;  and,  in  1855,  it  was 
pulled  down,  and  the  largest  Church  owned  by  the  Method- 
ists in  this  city  stands  on  the  old  site. 

About  the  year  1811,  the  heads  of  the  Academy  society 
engaged  in  building  a  church  in  Tenth  street,  between  Market 
and  Chestnut  streets,  which  they  called  St.  Thomas's.  This 
was  much  the  best  church  edifice  that  the  Methodists  then 
had  in  the  nation,  and  it  was  called  by  Mr.  Asbury,  who  first 
preached  in  it  in  1812,  by  way  of  eminence,  "  The  City 
Road,"  after  Mr.  Wesley's  London  chapel. 

A  number  of  the  Academy  members  entertaining  the 
notion  that  this  fine  church,  as  they  called  it,  was  built  to 
accommodate  a  few  of  the  most  wealthy  Methodist  families, 
refused  to  worship  in  it ;  and,  as  we  have  been  informed, 
started  a  prayer-meeting  at  the  same  hour  that  the  preaching 
was  at  St.  Thomas's,  in  the  region  of  Thirteenth  and  Vine, 
which  was  the  germ  of  Nazareth  Church.  As  a  congrega- 
tion could  not  be  raised  for  St.  Thomas's  to  sustain  it  with 
free  seats,  and  as  the  time  for  pews  (which  might  have  saved 
it)  in  a  Methodist  church  in  this  city  was  not  yet,  the  church 
was  sold,  and  the  Episcopalians  bought  it,  and  called  it  St. 
Stephen's. 

St.  John's  sprang  from  St.  George's,  and  was  built  in  St. 
John's  street,  near  Cohocksink  Creek,  about  1816.  In  1850, 
it  was  sold,  and  New  St.  John's  M.  E.  Church  was  erected  in 
Third  street,  near  Beaver  street. 

In  1818,  St.  James's,  in  Olney,  was  built.  It  is  in  one 
of  the  rural  districts  of  the  consolidated  city,  about  five  miles 
from  the  State-house,  in  Chestnut  street.  The  society  at 
St.  James's  are  about  to  put  up  a  new  church  in  the  place 
of  the  old  one. 

About  1819,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Meeting-house  in 
Holmesburg  was  built. 

The  Salem  Church,  like  most  others,  began  in  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  city.  Afterwards, 
they  had  a  small  place  of  worship  near  Old  Salem,  on  Thir- 
teenth street.  The  brick  building  now  called  Old  Salem  was 
erected  about  1819,  and  New  Salem  in  1841.  It  was  dedi- 
cated by  the  Rev.  John  N.  Mafiit. 


IN    AMERICA.  431 

Nazareth  commenced  in  a  prayer-meeting,  established 
about  1814,  near  Thirteenth  and  Vine  streets.  Afterwards, 
a  wooden  building  in  Perry  street,  south  of  Vine,  was  the  place 
of  worship  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1827,  a  brick  building, 
called  Nazareth,  was  erected  on  Thirteenth  street;  this  house 
was  enlarged  and  improved  in  1835.  The  Rev.  Samuel 
Mervine  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the  church  in  1827. 

Asbury  M.  E.  Church  was  opened  for  worship,  in  West 
Philadelphia,  about  1830.  In  1850,  it  was  enlarged  and 
improved. 

Fifth  Street  Church  was  built  by  the  Presbyterians,  and 
bought  by  a  number  of  the  St.  John's  Methodists,  with  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Rusling  at  their  head ;  it  first  appears  on  the 
Minutes  as  a  station  in  1832. 

St.  Paul's  is  a  slip  from  Ebenezer,  about  1833.  The  Meth- 
odists, who  founded  it,  built  a  small  brick  church  in  Fifth, 
near  Catherine  street.  About  1837,  Paul  Beck,  Esq.,  a  pious 
Episcopalian,  caused  a  large  church  to  be  erected,  in  modern 
style,  on  a  fine  lot  which  he  had  set  apart  for  this  purpose. 
The  gift  of  Mr.  Beck,  including  the  cost  of  the  church  and 
the  value  of  the  ground,  was  equal  to  fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  this  church  has  the  finest  front  yard  of  all  the  M.  E, 
churches  in  Philadelphia. 

In  1831,  the  Rev.  Edward  T.  Taylor,  the  far-famed  mari- 
ners' preacher,  in  Boston,  came  to  Philadelphia  to  collect 
money  to  establish  a  Sailor's  Boarding  House,  in  Boston. 
While  in  this  city,  his  preaching  in  the  churches  and  on  the 
decks  of  vessels  had  its  effects,  one  of  which  was  to  incite  in 
some  of  the  Methodists-  a  desire  to  do  something  for  water- 
men. There  were  a  few  young  men,  such  as  Jacob  Walters, 
William  Wright,  William  Farson,  William  Hanley,  William 
W.  Barnes,  David  H.  Bowen,  and  John  M.  Hines,  who  were 
members  of  Ebenezer  M.  E.  Church,  who  first  moved  in  this 
enterprise  :  they  were  soon  joined  by  C.  F.  Mansfield,  Joseph 
Mason,  and  others.  Of  the  above-named  nine,  Messrs. 
Mason  and  Hanly  are  in  the  itinerancy,  and  Messrs.  Walter 
and  Bowen  are  in  the  local  preachers'  ranks.  At  this  time 
the  Rev.  George  G.  Cookman  w^as  in  charge  of  St.  George's. 
At  the  request  of  the  above-named  brethren,  an  appointment 
was  made  for  a  Sunday  afternoon  sermon  on  the  wharf  in 
Southwark.  The  spot  chosen  was  south  of  South  street, 
the  retreat  of  inebriates  on  Sunday.  Some  stones  and  a 
pair  of  scales  formed  the  pulpit.  The  people  coming  from 
Jersey  in  ferry-boats  to  South  street,  seeing  the  people 
assembling  about  the  drunkard's  rendezvous,  supposed  there 


432  RISE    OF    METHODISM 

was  a  regular  row  and  hastened  to  swell  the  congregation. 
Isaiah,  v.  1  was  discoursed  upon  by  Mr.  Cook  man,  and 
this  was  the  initiatory  sermon  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Mariners'  Bethel. 

In  fitting  up  a  place  of  worship  for  sailors  by  this  band 
of  young  men,  a  spirit  of  sacrifice  was  shown  in  a  high 
degree  :  they  had  raised  a  fund  to  charter  a  boat  for  a  Fourth 
of  July  excursion  on  the  Delaware  river  ;  some  one  of  them 
mooted  that  the  money  would  be  better  applied  in  fitting  up 
a  place  for  religious  worship  it ;  was  argued  successfully  ;  and 
when  the  Fourth  of  July  came,  these  young  men,  instead  of 
gliding  on  the  Delaware,  were  seen  using  saws,  planes,  ham- 
mers, and  nails,  making  benches  for  a  congregation  to  use 
in  worshipping  the  Lord,  and  receiving  religious  instruction. 

This  meeting  was  kept  alive  for  nearly  three  years  by 
those  who  founded  it,  assisted  by  local  preachers,  and  occa- 
sional visits  from  the  preachers  stationed  at  St.  George's. 
In  1834  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Bartine  was  sent,  who  served  it  efii- 
ciently.  In  1844  a  brick  church  was  erected,  and  finished 
oif  since  very  neatly.  This  meeting  has  as  much,  if  not 
more,  of  the  primitive  spirit  of  Methodism,  as  any  one  to  be 
found  in  this  city.  It  has  sent  out  some  preachers  of  the 
first  order  of  mind,  such  as  Dr.  Wythe,  and  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
Brisbane. 

In  1832,  the  alarming  scourge,  the  Asiatic  cholera,  first 
visited  Philadelphia.  A  deep  sensation  was  produced  by  it.  A 
number  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  brick-making,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  city,  assembled  in  the  open  air,  on  the 
commons,  among  the  brick  yards,  in  the  evening,  and  held 
prayer-meetings  for  those  whose  alarmed  fears  led  them  to 
cry  for  mercy.  This  state  of  things  stirred  up  Christian 
sympathy,  and  a  number  of  the  wealthy  Methodists  moved 
a  subscription  to  build  a  church  for  them,  which  was  opened 
for  worship  in  1834.  Its  chartered  name  is  "  Western  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church;"  but  many  called  it  the  "Brick- 
Makers'  Church." 

As  our  information  is  not  complete,  as  to  the  year  in  which 
some  of  the  following  churches  were  erected,  we  say  "  about 
such  a  year." 

The  M.  E.  Church  of  Frankford  was  erected  about  1833. 

The  first  church  in  Manayunk  was  built  about  the  same 
year. 

Pretty  much  of  the  same  date  is  the  M.  E.  Church  in 
Bustleton. 

Also  the  Haddington  Chapel. 


IN    AMERICA.  433 

Nciir  the  same  time  the  Milestown  Church  was  put  up. 

In  1836  Harmony  Mission  appears  on  the  Minutes:  in  1843 
tliis  was  called  New  Market  Street — and  a  wooden  church  was 
erected  ;  and  in  1857,  the  wooden  church  was  superseded  by 
a  brick  church  called  "Front  Street," 

The  Fairmount  Mission  appears  on  tlie  Minutes  first  in 
1836.  About  1843,  this  society  had  a  brick  church  in  Cal- 
lowhill  street,  cal.led  "  Bethlehem  ;"  and  in  1852  a  new  brick 
church  was  erected  called  "Emory." 

In  1837,  a  church  which  had  been  erecte<l  by  the  German 
Reformed  brethren,  was  bought  by  the  Methodists,  and 
appeared  on  the  Minutes  as  Eighth  Street  Station.  In  1854, 
it  was  superseded  by  "  Green  Street  Church." 

In  1837,  the  Rising  Sun  Church  was  built,  when  the  Rev. 
Caleb  Lippincott  was  on  the  City  Circuit. 

About  1840,  the  Cohocksink  wooden  church  Avas  built :  in 
1857,  the  new  brick  church  was  erected. 

In  1841,  Trinity  Church  was  built  by  a  number  of  mem- 
bers belonging  to  the  Union— it  is  the  only  pew-church  the 
Methodists  have  in  Philadelphia. 

Sanctuary  Church  was  erected  in  1841,  by  Mr.  Wesley 
Stockton,  who  sold  it  to  the  society  worshipping  in  it. 

In  1842  Wharton  Street  Church  was  founded :  it  absorbed 
the  Bethesda  Mission :  Wharton  Street  was  a  colony  from 
Ebenezer. 

About  the  same  time.  Mount  Zion,  in  Manayunk,  was  built. 

Twelfth  Street  Church  was  built  by  a  number  of  Meth- 
odists of  other  churches,  in  1844. 

Of  about  the  same  date  is  the  small  Methodist  Chapel  in 
the  village  of  Kingsessing. 

Chestnut  Hill  M.  E.  Church  was  built  in  1844. 

Port  Richmond  Church  was  erected  about  1847. 

Ebenezer,  the  second  M.  E.  Church  at  Manayunk,  was 
built  in  1847. 

Bridesburg  Church  founded  about  1850. 

Belmont  M.  E.  Church  built  about  the  same  year,  1850. 

Summerfield  Church  erected  about  1851. 

Mantua  Church  was  built  about  1854. 

Iledding  M.  E.  Church  erected  in  1855. 

Broad  Street  M.  E.  Church  built  in  1855. 

Eleventh  Street  founded  in  1855. 

In  1855,  the  Tabernacle  M.  E.  Church  was  built. 

About  the  same  year  Pitman  Chapel  was  bought. 

In  1855,  the  Central  Church  ^vas  founded  by  a  secession 
from  St.  George's.  In  1857,  its  members  bought  a  church. 


434  RISE    OF    METHODJISM    IN    AMERICA. 

In  1856  St.  Stephen's  founded  in  Germantown,  on  Ger- 
mantown  Avenue.     Of  about  the  same  date  is  M'Kendree. 

About  the  same  year  Hancock  Street  Church  was  bought. 

Of  about  the  same  date  is  the  M.  E.  Church  at  the  Falls 
of  Schuylkill. 

Scott  Church,  built  in  1857. 

Of  the  same  date  is  the  Second  Street  Church. 

Calvary  was  founded  about  the  same  time. 

Manship,  in  1858. 


435 


-ijoOj-i  |v«"x  l.tLTJ.!-— ^ TTT^rTT  .^T".  T~i .5' 


I     [qojnqj    IS  P'- 


•9CHI 

•uns  autsjH^ 

•9?Wl 

•Xj«ai«0 


•?-<:•«  I 

■tssi 


piagj.i.utung 


■f.trfl 

■qmssiooqoo 


•U-S[ 
■as  iioj.inqA\. 


•  SS§ 


•  -siss 


1  s:  JO  oc  r:  r:  1-  -ra 


0-.  .r;  lO  -J  c  «  >-  --a 
•i-XC  —  r ---- 


;  ^  i2  ^  ^2  ?i  71  ?  '5  ?;  '5  M 


:sggf  §  ; 


t-  .c  C  O  =  C  O  3>  ^  0  ;r^  !;-  =  VC  3  •-  a  »  «  =:  g  2 


I-  X  X  =-.  o  5:  ■-  1 


•tt:«i 


I  : : :  : 


■9181        I   •  •?|j2|5|g|2||5Sgi§ii:^^ei::u;;2xS:r;i- 

'•ti8i  '    rgp^sgi§2sg.:5.|.:q5s=|?j|2||||:||||iiis 


illi 


-  Z  i^  .r.  '^  'JJ  5;  5 


'692.1  I    Sr;"%  5  ;-  -        •  -'--_,-,--:-;-;  ^   -~   ^-  Z  xi-5o3:a.o.n'«-* 

#-s.38.ioao -IS  I  vn -------- ■-  '•_■  -'' '■'\^'---  ■ :  _ ":-. ::  ■  7 .  i  _ r. 7  :i 7-  - .-  ^  rr^ - ~ « -r .-■'5t=^"s 

I :^^; — rS"i'j^S|rr/i^:gg^:gg^'g|555i555  55ZxJJi52x2H 


rii' 


i  I  iiis»|2sfe5!i=§Bi^sg^sisiisssllEiiiiiiii 


UHi?i!!Hui?ii^HEElHl||g||g££BHIllliIllliiiiii 


This  book  is  due  two  weeks  from  the  last  date  stamped 
below,  and  if  not  returned  at  or  before  that  time  a  fine  of 
five  cents  a  day  will  be  incurred. 


.^^^:^  '^   ^    l« 

' 

< 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


0068433921 


O-^"^,^ 


^\3 


BRITTLE  DO  HOT 
PHOTOCOPY 


DFC  i  2  1930 


m 


